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The Cricket of AbeU Hirst, 
and Shre^ivsbury 



The Cricket of Abel Hirst, 
and Shre'wsbury 



^ -^ EDITED BY 

E? y} BENSON 

t^ and ^ 

EUSTACE H. MILES 



ILLUSTRATED WITH 

THIRTY-FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS 

BY 

MASON AND BASEBE 



NEW YORK 

E. P. DUTTON & CO. 

Zlf West Twenty-Third Street 
J903 



-,\l<^\^ 
'^^ 



PKINTED BY KELLY'S DIRECTORIES li ']' D 
LONDON AND KINGSTON. 



iy Transftf 
D. ' Piiblic Library 
^^^ 2 6 1938 



60457 




There appear ^^^,4mrdly any beginnH;r or habitual 
players who know n^^t^^gcofit ^i3#e^^ experts at 
play and at work. The reason cannot well be that we 
do not look on at games sufificiently often ! No, one 
reason is that we have not been trained to observe 
with a view to personal experimentation afterwards ; 
and another reason is that there is very little time to 
catch and realise the different positions and move- 
ments as they flash by. Hence the value of photo- 
graphs, especially when they are — as many of these 
thirty-four are — taken from behind : it is not easy to 
reproduce for ourselves the action as shown by an 
ordinary photograph (taken from in front), since it 
gives us everything the wrong way round. 

But even photographs often fail to teach their lesson. 
The learner must be told how to teach himself from 
photographs. After which he will find it easy to teach 
himself from actual models, as soon as he knows just 
what to look out for — the feet and their '' stances " and 
changes, and so on. It is to be hoped that these 
photographs, and the notes on them, and the obvious 
inferences drawn from them, will train readers to 
study various other experts besides these three, who 
are only a few out of a host. 

For the object of the book is not to tie any player 



viii EDITORS* PREFACE. 

down to any one method, but rather to set him on 
the track of independent research and self-instruc- 
tion : to show him how to watch and see, and how 
to practise the best things that he sees, and what the 
best things are most Hkely to be. Not a single hint in 
these pages need be followed until the reader is con- 
vinced that what I advise is what most if not all great 
players actually do, whether consciously or by instinct. 

The volume is not intended to compete with the 
many excellent books edited by those who themselves 
play the game well. It boasts of a large debt to 
these classics, but having gathered hints from them it 
moves away on altogether different lines. The best 
player is seldom the best teacher of average beginners. 
On the principle of " Set a thief to catch a thief," a 
duffer has here been set to teach a duffer, while at the 
same time the whole teaching is, I hope, strictly 
according to the actual play of good players, as shown 
by observation, by photographs, and by answers to 
questions asked during special interviews. The three 
chief players (whose ascertained positions and move- 
ments are made the basis for all the simple lessons 
offered here) are Abel, Hirst, and Shrewsbury. 

The editor of this volume used to play Cricket at 
school about as well or as badly as he used to play 
Racquets. After his school and undergraduate days 
at Cambridge, he discovered many fundamental faults 
in his play at Racquets — faults which abundant 
practice had strengthened and fixed into bad habits — 
ineradicably and hopelessly bad habits, his critics 
said. He had some hints from the best professionals 



EDITORS PREFACE. ix 

(Smale, Latham, and others) ; he studied their posi- 
tions and movements carefully ; then, chiefly by the 
help of certain easy and healthy exercises in his 
bedroom for less than five minutes a day (Mr. Edward 
Lyttelton constantly recommends bedroom-practice 
for Cricket, and quotes the success of Jupp thereby), 
he found that he was gradually removing those habits, 
and building better habits which persisted in sub- 
sequent play in the Court itself. Quite recently, 
after noticing the various positions and movements of 
the great experts of Cricket (including the three 
professionals whose photographs appear in this 
volume), he concluded that there had been remark- 
ably similar faults, and no less fundamental faults, in 
his Cricket, though of course the games of Cricket and 
Racquets have marked differences. He thinks that 
these faults were amply sufficient to account for his 
past failure to enjoy Cricket (that is, to improve at 
Cricket), just as the other faults had proved sufficient 
to account for his past clumsiness at Racquets. He 
therefore devised special exercises by which he might 
eventually be enabled to do himself less injustice at 
Cricket also.* These he intends to practise regularly 
in order to secure the bodily mechanisms of play, to 
make them his very own, before he once again meets 
those "disturbing elements" in Cricket (as in 
Racquets and Tennis), the ball and the opponents. 

* Mr. C. B. Fry, after studying the foundation-positions and 
foundation-movements which I have found most useful for Racquets 
and Tennis, was struck with their great similarity to those which he 
himself had found most important for Cricket. 



EDITORS' PREFACE. 



Whether he will ever become a cricketer or not he 
cannot say — he does not expect to become one in less 
than a year or two : so numerous and deeply ingrained 
were his mistakes, so execrable was his style, if he 
is to believe his most candid friends and enemies ! 
But at least he can safely say that these mistakes — 
which he observes to be common to nearly all duffers 
and most beginners — are now so absolutely obvious as 
to supply ample reasons for any amount of his failure 
in all kinds of batting, in all departments of fielding, as 
well as in bowling. He can safely say that until he has 
mastered those positions and movements which nearly 
all the experts already have as a matter of course^ 
until he has learnt the ABC, built the scaffolding, 
formed the skeleton, or whatever one likes to call the 
process, he will certainly not become a cricketer. He 
cannot reasonably expect the tree to bear fruit for a 
long time yet ; but he hopes the fact that he himself 
is practising what he preaches will encourage others 
to give the method^ — sensibly adapted according to 
their individual opinions and needs and models — a 
fair and square trial, as thousands have already given 
a fair and square and successful trial to the simpler 
diet. The method is urged as claiming a reasonable 
experiment before condemnation : that is all. It is 
not meant to harass and cramp all players, so as to 
make them uniform, any more than the learning of 
the alphabet and of spelling is meant to harass and 
cramp all writers. He only describes what he believes 
to be the correct alphabet and spelling of words in 
Cricket. Out of this alphabet and these words let 



EPITORS' PREFACE. xi 

each player subsequently form his own sentences and 
paragraphs and chapters. Let each player develop 
to the full his individual merits and specialities. But 
not until he has made the alphabet and the vocabulary 
his very own, to use easily at will, is he likely to 
develop his individuality satisfactorily and success- 
fully, any more than a builder would be likely to 
build a good house without good bricks, mortar, and 
wood, and some knowledge and practice of the best 
ways of using them. 

The suggestions are one and all based upon the 
practice or the teaching of successful players. Of the 
three special models here, not one has the advantage 
of superior height, and at least one had not the 
advantage of athletic physiq.ue. The instructions 
point out the apparent foundations of batting, bowl- 
ing, and fielding, and, by contrast, the apparent faults 
to which the natural duffer like myself is liable. It is 
hoped that critics and other readers will kindly offer 
every possible hint and correction. 

Each true lover of games, whether he play or 
watch or both watch and play, must see that if this 
way be good — this mastery of the instruments of 
play, in addition to the usual net-practice and games 
— it surely will improve the health and physique of 
the nation ; will bring in more recruits for Cricket ; 
will enable the busy man to keep up at least his 
muscular, if not his nervous apparatus, so that he 
need never get considerably out of practice or train- 
ing, and need never, as too many thousands have 
done, give up the game merely because he has not 



xii EDITORS' PREFACE. 



time to play the game itself regularly. The editor 
feels assured that any feasible five-minutes-a-day 
system like this, which may tend to spread the 
greatest of games more widely, and to raise our 
national standard of skill, enjoyment, and physique, 
will be received by every patriot in the spirit in which 
it is offered ; namely, as perhaps useful for most, 
and probably healthy and harmless for all. Every 
sensible person will agree that if the game is going to 
be played at all — and it certainly is — then it is worth 
playing well, and therefore worth learning well and 
practising well. 

Whether these exercises and general hints will 
help towards my end — towards a game better played 
all-round (in batting, bowling, and fielding), better 
watched, and so better enjoyed — experience must 
decide. But all will concede that these exercises are 
not less pleasant and wholesome than those of drill 
and dumb-bell and strain-apparatus ; that they are 
far better adapted than these are as a preparation for 
the noblest of sports and for much of daily life itself, 
since they encourage not mere strength and vastness 
of muscle, but also full extensions in various direc- 
tions, promptitude to start in any required direction, 
rapidity to carry the movements through, endurance 
to repeat them, self-control to keep or recover poise 
in spite of the fulness and rapidity and promptitude 
and unforeseenness of the motion ; to say nothing of 
the corresponding mental and moral excellences. If 
the system demands only a few minutes each day 
then in so far as it is correct — and it will be gradually 



EDITORS PREFACE. XIU 

corrected as observations and criticisms pour in — it 
will prove well worth while, especially on wet days 
(which are not unknown in England), and in winter, 
for those who do not grudge many hours a day to 
Cricket itself with all its waitings and watchings and 
disappointments. 

The system is the chief new feature of this book, 
which, however, does not by any means underestimate 
the equally essential coaching by schoolmasters and 
professionals and others, and net-practice and practice- 
games as an addition to the system and as the test of 
its merits or demerits. 

These ought we to do, and not leave the other — the 
system which teaches this very alphabet of Cricket — 
undone, especially to-day when the majority of people 
are cooped up in cities without the chance of a 
practice-game or even of a net. The plea is not for 
uniformity of style, but for reasonable mastery of the 
spelling of words before we write essays ; for a system 
of self-teaching and self-correction ; for a system of 
training and practice when regular play is out of the 
question ; for a drill which fathers and uncles may 
teach their children and nephews ; for a healthy and 
interesting use of odd minutes which would otherwise 
be wasted or worse than wasted. 



POSTSCRI PTS. 



1. Mr. C. B. Fry's advice in ^'Cricket" (just published 
by C. Arthur Pearson, in 1903) should be carefully read. 
He says : *' To train his muscles for heavy weight-lifting 
is precisely what a cricketer ought not to do. ... It 
is remarkable how much a player can improve himself 
. . . . by simply practising strokes with a bat and no 
ball or bowler. But this is easily understood when you 
perceive that the actual correctness of a stroke^ so far as the 
movement of the feet and of the arms is concer7ied^ is entirely 
independent of the ball. To make a stroke with the correct 
action and to time the ball are two distinct things ; both 
are necessary in a match, and you can learn the second only 
with a ball bowled at you ; but the first you can certainly 
to some extent acquire by mere chamber drill. 

*' It is also worth knowing that much may be done with a 
ball hanging by a cord from a beam or a tree. A little 
ingenuity renders practice at the swinging ball quite 
valuable.'^ 

2. The death of Shrewsbury in May, 1903, has been a 
great loss to Cricket and cricketers. His enthusiasm, his 
mastery of certain mechanisms of batting, his calm confi- 
dence and patience, his gentleness and good nature, made 
him an almost unique personality in the world of Cricket. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Editors' Preface vii 

CHAP. 

I. — Batting and Running . . . . i 

II. — Bowling 56 

III. — Fielding and Throwing-in . . .103 
IV. — Notes on Wicket-keeping, Captaining, 

Implements 120 

V. — The Importance of All-roundness in 

Cricket 138 

VI. — Faults in Play and Practice . . . 149 

VII. — General Training for Cricket . .166 

VIII. — Special Exercises and Notes on Practice 181 

IX. — Fallacies of Theorists and Others . 208 

X. — Merits of Cricket 225 

XL — Suggested Reforms 233 

Appendix I. — The Editors' Defence of this 

System for Beginners and Others . . 249 

Appendix II. — Laws of the Game . . . 268 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



I. — Waiting for the ball, with the weight balanced 
almost evenly upon the two feet (which are near 
together), but rather on the right foot 

\_Facing page 22 

II. — Forward play : the bat has been drawn straight 
up and back (not in a curve) before the stroke 

[Facing page 25 

III. — Playing back : the right foot has retired nearer 
the wicket, so as to give longer time for seeing 
the ball. (Note. — The bat should be held 
straight. This photograph was taken before 
Shrewsbury was in practice) . . [Facing page 26 

IV. — The glide : both feet well back . [Facing page 28 

V. — Playing back : right foot retired, to give extra 
time for seeing the ball ; weight on right foot. 
This was Shrewsbury's stroke when he felt 
" beaten " by the bowler . . [Facing page 29 

VI. — Playing forward to a ball on the off : the straight 
bat has passed near and beyond the left foot in a 
"follow-through." Notice the fingers, especially 
the first finger and thumb of the left hand. At 
the end of the stretch the left arm is fully ex- 
tended, and the right heel has come off the 
ground . . . [Between pages 2^0 and ^i^ 



xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

VII. — Playing forward to a ball slightly to the leg 
side : see remarks on previous photograph, and 
notice the head well over the bat-handle 

[Between pages 30 and 3 1 

VIII. — Playing forward to a straight ball : see re- 
marks on previous photographs 

[Between pages 30 and 31 

IX. — Position of hands and fingers at the end of the 
forward stroke : the left hand has shifted round, 
the right hand holds the bat with thumb and first 
finger only ..... [Facing page 35 

X. — Preparing to drive with a pull : the left leg is 
well out so that the bat may get nearer to the 
pitch of the ball .... [Facing page 39 

XL — Preparing to pull a short ball : right foot across, 

so as to help the stroke well round to leg 

[Betiveen pages 40 and 4 1 
XII. — Preparing to pull a short ball : right foot across 

and well back, so as to make the short ball still 

shorter . . . [Between pages 40 and 4 1 

XIII. — Hook-stroke to leg : both feet well back, but 

weight on right foot . [Between pages 40 and 41 

XIV. — Cut-drive. Right leg firm and straight, left 

leg bent and well across . . [Facing page 41 
XV. — The late cut : right foot well across, left leg 

extended so far as to bring heel off ground 

[Between pages 42 and 43 
XVI. — The late cut : right foot well across, left leg 

extended . . . [Between pages 42 and 43 

XVII. — The way of running out with fairly long 

steps, weight should be chiefly on right foot 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XIX 

and right leg should be ready to serve as firm 
pivot . . . . \_Between pages 46 and 47 

XVIII. — Abel's way of running out, with feet inter- 
lacing . . . {Between pages \(i and Af"] 

XIX. — Turning quickly at the crease after the first 

run . . . . . . [Facing page 50 

XX. — Bowling, third position : bowling arm ex- 
tended fully forwards and downwards, body facing 
forwards, back leg fully extended [Facing page 61 

XXI. — Bowling, second position : bowling arm ex- 
tended fully upwards, body coming round with 
arm ...... [Facing page 61 

XXII. — Bowling, first position : bowling arm back 
and down, body facing sideways, weight on back 
leg ...... [Facing page 67 

XXIII. — One of Hirst's grips when he bowls : the 
little finger does not touch the ball, and only the 
knuckle of the third finger does 

[Between pages 70 and 71 

XXIV. — Same grip for right hand bowler 

[Between pages 70 and 71 

XXV. — Another of Hirsf s grips : all the fingers touch 
the ball, the little one only just with its side 

[Between pages 70 and 71 

XXVI. — Same grip for right hand bowler 

[Between pages 70 and 71 

XXVII. — Bowler waiting for ball to be thrown in : he 
is standing well back from the wicket 

[Facing page 9 1 

XXVIII. — Fielding a low ball with one hand : the 

opposite leg is fully extended . [Facing page 112 



XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

XXIX. — Fielding, second position : the hand drawn 
back behind the ear, somewhat further back than 
most American Baseball fielders prefer 

[Facing page 114 

XXX. — Waiting for a catch : elbows ready to draw 
back slightly the moment the ball touches the 
hands . . . {Between pages 116 and \\^ 

XXXL — A one-handed catch : body bent slightly 

back from the hips . [Between pages 116 and 117 

XXXIL — Fielding a ground ball : no interval left for 
the ball to get through ; body well down to the 
work .... [Between pages 118 and 1 1 9 

XXXI IL — A waiting position at point, where there is 
less foot-work than at most places. It is easier 
to rise quickly than to stop quickly 

[Between pages 118 and 119 

XXXIV. — Preparing to throw in with the high action 

[Between pages 118 and 1 1 9 



THE CRICKET OF 

ABEL, HIRST AND SHREWSBURY. 



CHAPTER L 

BATTING AND RUNNING. 
I.— INTRODUCTORY. 

It was once thought that the universe 
moved round our earth merely as its accom- 
panying condition, existing simply and solely 
for the sake of our earth. And so the 
batsman has been, and generally still is, 
regarded as the centre of cricket, for whose 
enjoyment the rest of the players sub- 
sist. Batting seems best worth while, not 
so much because of the qualities, such as 
pluck, which it demands, as because of the 
pleasure it may give. The reason why most 
people like batting, even if they hate wicket- 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



keeping and fielding and watching, and do 
not bowl, is the enjoyment of striking and 
of scoring runs. Perhaps in this there is 
some relic of the desire for hitting and killing 
— the desire for overcoming and controlling 
Nature, for using power. Moreover, batting 
includes defence as well as attack ; indeed 
the safest defence may really be to attack 
boldly. Batting at its best and fullest in- 
volves a complexity of characteristics : it 
involves back-play, with gliding and late 
cutting, pulling, forward play, with the cut- 
drive and ordinary drive, the '' half-cock '' 
stroke, the snick ; a decision between these 
varieties, followed by a hit, then recovery of 
balance, then a decision whether one shall 
run or not, then perhaps a run, then a turn 
at the crease — and much besides this. It 
may involve a great change of habit. Thus 
in many other ball-games the ball is hit 
when it is further off from the striker's 
foot — as in Golf, Racquets, Tennis, Lawn 
Tennis, Fives. In Cricket, except in such 
strokes as the pull and the cut, the ball should 
be hit when it is near to the striker's foot. 

He who is not born a batsman, he who 
wishes to be made — that is, make himself — 
an all-round batsman, must learn not only 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



general rules like this^ but also details with 
regard to the individual strokes. In study- 
ing these details he will meet divergent 
theories ; here again is scope for individual 
trial and judgment, and for observation. 
He can notice what the best players actually 
do^ for, as Murdoch says, this is of 
more importance than what they think 
they do. 

The would-be batsman, therefore, is offered 
perhaps a few really universal laws, and 
certainly many general hints, yet he must 
judge of each hint by its results in his own 
case after fair experiment. He must be 
a free agent. He may find that the advisers 
have assumed that he has little reach, little 
activity, whereas he may be a Ford or Abel 
for reach, a Jessop or Abel for activity, without 
the safety of a Shrewsbury or the strength 
of a Hirst. Why should such a one be tied 
down by a law that in forward play he 
shall not let his bat pass beyond his left 
foot, if he has it in his power to send his bat 
with force many inches beyond that point, 
and so smother the ball ? Who shall bind 
down such players ? On the other hand, 
who shall spoil the slow player's pleasure 
and safety by bidding him run out ? 



4 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

Throughout this chapter all rules or hints 
are submitted to the test of utility for the 
individual. They must be studied ; ques- 
tions must be asked of coaches and others^ 
who should explain strokes by doing them ; 
the mechanisms must be found out, and 
also the causes and reasons for them. 
These mechanisms — some will be described 
later on — must be mastered, if not in early 
life, then now ; they must be mastered 
sensibly, not with huge bats and balls to 
begin with, but with lighter implements. 
The advice must all be judged by its effects. 

If the reader will bear in mind that the 
mechanisms suggested, together with the other 
helps, are not necessarily the best (though 
they are based on a study of what the best 
players actually do in games), he will treat 
them in the right spirit, with a view to sensible 
trial and judgment by fruits. Anyhow, be 
these helps right or wrong, it is obvious 
that, by all except the genius player, some 
ABC should be acquired as a personal 
possession and habit before much regular 
play has confirmed bad habits. Mr. Edward 
Lyttelton insists on this in the following 
passage, after he has described what is 
needed for a correct stroke : — 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



" Now from these principles, which some might call 
truisms, a very important practical maxhn proceeds. All 
sound rules of batting should be practised by a young 
cricketer without the ball as well as with it. The grammar 
of the science can be partly learnt in the bedroom ; the 
application of the rules must be made on the green sward. 
Many a finished batsman has tried this plan. Five 
minutes devoted every night by an aspiring cricketer to 
a leg hit, or cut, or forward play at a phantom ball, will 
gradually discipline his sinews to the required posture, 
besides sending him to bed in a right frame of mind. 

" I think it was Harry Jupp who used to ascribe his 
astonishingly good defence to a habit of this kind. He 
used to place a large-sized mirror on the floor — not for 
purposes of personal vanity — but to see if the bat moved 
in a straight line. To make the test better, a line was 
drawn along the floor from the centre of the mirror, along 
which line the bat was to move. The least deviation was 
then manifested, not only at the end of the stroke, but 
while it was being made." 

2. — THE ALPHABET OF SAFE BATTING. 

It is not part of the alphabet of safe bat- 
ting to meet and attack the ball always. 
Both W. G. and C. B. Fry began their careers 
with safety^ with the stopping of balls ; 
afterwards they proceeded to splendid execu- 
tion. The A B C of safe batting is not quite 
identical with the A B C of effective batting, 
which will be considered in subsequent sec- 
tions of this chapter. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



One of the first rules of safety is said to 
be to '' keep the eye on the ball/' This rule 
needs alteration.* Before the delivery the 
eye should watch the bowler's arm^ wrist, 
and fingers ; Shrewsbury owed to this ob- 
servation of something besides the ball a 
long innings against the Australians many 
years ago. To foretell a change in direc- 
tion, length, pace, break, etc., is not easy 
by the sight of the ball alone. It is after 
the ball has left the bowler's hand that it 
must be sedulously watched. Nor can it 
always be watched right on to the bat ; 
exactly how far it can be watched is a much 
disputed point. Certainly few batsmen can 
carry out the golden rule of Golf. I believe 
that most of them — I speak from my own 
Tennis and Racquet experience — take their 
eyes off the cricket-ball too soon. Few err 
by looking at it too long. In my games, 
almost without exception, the longer I look 
at the ball the better my stroke is. 

The second law is correct timing. There 
are several kinds of good sight ; I doubt if 

'^ " Keep your eye on the bowler ; watch how he holds the ball and 
runs up to the wicket before delivering it, and you may be able to 
detect any alteration in length and pace. And never get flurried 
whatever his action may be ; for if you take your eyes off his arm or 
lose your head for a second, he has you at a disadvantage." 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



any one of them by itself brings with it 
that desirable faculty^ '' the good eye/' 
Ranjitsinhji and others rightly include, under 
the timing, the judgment as to the flight 
(direction, pace, etc.), the decision as to 
what is or is not to be done, the command 
that the best things shall be done, the correct 
combination and co-operation of the re- 
quisite parts' at just the very moment.* I 
believe that the good eye, where it is not 
already a natural or acquired habit, means a 
splendidly accurate and therefore healthy 
working of a vast number of more or less 
separate nerve centres and nerves ; but 
that what is often called '' a good eye '' is 
nothing of the sort — it is a mastery of certain 
correct mechanisms, which, if a man pos- 
sesses them for his own, can produce an even 
better effect than the most superb eyesight 
without such mechanism. I may have a far 
better sight and eye for games than a fairly 
well-taught golfer who knows what muscles 
to use, and has these as half-automatic 
habits ; but put me against him, and ask 
any spectators which of us has the better 

'^ Compare also Dr. W. G. Grace, who says: "Timing the ball is 
the secret of all good play ; and timing, as far as I can make out, 
means the harmonious working of eye, wrist, arms, legs, and 
shoulders, which can only be acquired by constant practice." 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



eye^ and they will very likely point to my 
opponent. 

If this be so, then the third rule will be 
to have already secured the best possible 
mechanisms, and to have made them easy 
and sub-conscious ; at first perhaps they may 
be conquered one by one ; in the end, how- 
ever, they must be not independent units, 
but co-operating parts of a unit — members 
combining and working together in harmony, 
as in some businesses, adding power each to 
each, relieving one another. These mechan- 
isms include, for mam^ strokes, and especially 
the forward strokes, the '' straight bat,'' 
i.e., the bat held straight and not sideways 
as it meets the ball ; with its handle nearer 
to the bowler than its blade is ; with the end 
of its blade just to the side of the left foot ; 
the bat moving as straight as maybe towards 
the approaching ball from start to finish 
(the finish being a follow-through after the 
ball has been struck) ; quickness of foot and 
leg to start and to move, the right leg being 
the base and pivot ; the power to get right 
to the pitch of the ball or else to wait for it 
as far back as possible ; straight and fast 
and full extensions of various limbs in various 
directions ; a control of many different 



BATTING AND RUNNING 



strokes, and especially, in these days of fast 
plumb-wickets, a control of the forward 
stroke. The reader will best realise the 
number of these mechanisms if we mention 
(and if he meanwhile realises by trial) some 
of those which are parts of the ordinary 
forward stroke : — the right leg straight and 
unbent, the right foot firm, the left foot 
and leg sent out towards the ball (a little 
to the left of the line of flight), the left elbow 
and wrist shot well forward at full stretch 
(in order to keep the ball down), the right 
shoulder forward and down, the bat moved 
straight down and towards the approaching 
ball and beyond it (not necessarily straight 
along the hne between the wickets), the 
weight brought forward with the head of 
the bat, the recovery of balance and position, 
and the readiness to run directly after the 
ball has been struck or missed. If one has 
run out first, then the right foot will still have 
to serve as a firm pivot for the whole stroke, 
which must be a single movement. This 
will give some idea of what the correct 
mechanisms are, quite apart from individual 
peculiarities in the use of them. Such correct 
mechanisms may be acquired separately as 
I acquired my Tennis mechanisms, and as 



lO BATTING AND RUNNING. 



fencers acquire their fencing — mechanisms 
of lunge^ wrist-play, etc. ; but it is part of 
the A B C of correct play to have already 
acquired them as correct members of a correct 
whole before the game begins. Add to these 
the mechanisms and the combination of 
mechanisms for other strokes, such as back- 
play, cut, pull, etc., and the reader will 
agree that the A B C of batting is no light 
work for anyone, except the born player 
who apparently has not had to learn it letter 
by letter. 

Out of the list of useful mechanisms a 
few will now be suggested. It is for the 
reader to judge how far they actually are 
used in the strokes of leading experts. Each 
example must be compared with the positions 
and movements of the best models, as 
shown in photographs like these, or in actual 
games or practice. 

SOME SAMPLE EXERCISES. 

Before attempting these exercises, the 
reader should find out the principles of 
correct practice, some of which are suggested 
in Chapter VIII. One or two of the most 
vital may be selected here. 

(i.) Decide whether it is worth while 



BATTING AND RUNNING. II 

to play Cricket at all ; if so^ whether it is 
worth while to improve your standard of 
skill ; if so^ whether these and your own 
exercises are likely to be of appreciable help. 
(The exercises are not meant to take the 
place of net-practice and games, which are 
indispensable^but to make them more pleasant 
and useful.) 

(2.) During the exercises, concentrate your 
whole attention either upon the muscles 
at work, or upon their reflection in a look- 
ing-glass. 

(3.) Aim at correctness, and therefore be- 
gin slowly and carefully before you repeat 
any given movement. Freedom, pace, en- 
durance, strength will then increase almost 
of their own accord. Freedom and pace 
may best be acquired by movements done 
at first without implements, afterwards with 
light implements. I found these two pre- 
liminary stages invaluable in the preparation 
for my games, perhaps especially for the 
sharp movements of Racquets. The worst 
possible beginning is any '' exerciser '' that 
requires a tense grip. 

(4.) In case of a fault (discovered by your- 
self or pointed out by others), seek to ex- 
aggerate the opposite fault. 



12 BATTING AND RUNNING. 



Among the most useful exercises for bat- 
ting, as for bowling and fielding, are the fast 
and full and straight extensions of various 
muscles and muscle-combinations, with 
economy of the unused parts, and without 
loss of, or with immediate recovery of, 
the body's balance, and readiness to be 
directed elsewhither. It is likely that these 
pages contain errors, but I think that if one 
were to ask a good player where he ached 
most of all after his first practice or game 
in the season, one would find that the aches 
were mainly due to these extension move- 
ments (of the latissimus dorsi, below and 
behind the arm-pit, etc.). 

For the feet and legs, (i.) Lunge far 
forward (but not so far as to strain your- 
self) with the left foot and leg in a direct 
line (not a curve) in various directions 
(perhaps along various chalk lines upon the 
floor) with full weight — the head should 
come almost over the left foot — but with 
rapid recovery of balance. 

(ii.) Start to run in the forward direction, 
afterwards. 

(iii.) Practise the position and movement 
for backing up and a quick start to run. 

(iv.) Practise the movement for turning 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



at the crease, as shown in the photograph of 
Shrewsbury. 

For the neck. Move the head round, 
at first slowly and carefully, from side to 
side, then up and down, and so on ; but do 
not strain. 

For the trunk : the body's force is great, 
as — to use an old illustration — one can see 
when one bumps against a wall in the dark. 
(i.) The body-swing from the hips is a most 
useful movement. Keeping the legs as stiff 
as possible, and the head as still as pos- 
sible, twist round the shoulders, first to 
the right, then to the left, (ii.) Bend the 
trunk forwards, and then sideways, from 
the hips. y 

For the shoulders, arm, and forearm. 
(i.) To the lunge of the left foot add an 
equally full and direct and fast lunge of 
the left shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Your 
head should come forward also, above your 
left foot. Imagine yourself to be aiming 
at a ball, and see that your left wrist is in 
a line beween your eyes and some object, 
say a chair's leg in the bedroom, (ii.) Jerk 
the forearm (and wrist) as if you were whip- 
ping a peg-top or shaking out a clogged 
stylographic pen. 



14 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

For the wrist and fingers. Flex and twist 
the wrist and each finger far and fast in 
various directions. After freedom and pace 
have been acquired, but not before, some 
strength can be added by resistance — as by 
holding a dumb-bell during the movements, 
or by using some grip machine. 

Let us apply these — a few out of many 
mechanisms for all-round batting — to for- 
ward-play. The excellent words of Mr. 
Edward Lyttelton must be quoted first. 
He says : — 

'' You will see from these directions that 
it is a very complex action, far from easy 
to do all at once, so that by careful prac- 
tice if not by the light of nature you must 
first learn to do it properly without the 
ball, then with it. Establish the motion 
as a habit before the stress of the crisis 

begins It is thought that just 

as great players of yore reached eminence 
without being subject to coaching in early 
youth, or indeed in some cases after being 
completely self-taught, so boys of the present 
day would stand a better chance if they were 
less drilled than they sometimes are, and 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 1 5 

were left to find the use of their hmbs by a 
vigorous^ if umkempt style of hitting. The 
Englishman's instinct, said a Frenchman, 
is to go out of doors and hit or kick some- 
thing as hard as he can. This being 
so, why not let boys learn to hit as they 
please till they are sixteen or seventeen, 
and then perhaps a few rules might be 
taught them ? But if taught beforehand, 
they only cramp the style, and take away 
the enjoyment of the game. Nature must 

be the best teacher ; etc., etc 

But it is not at all easy to secure this habit, 
and therefore you should remember it care- 
fully in your bedroom. . . ." 

Pretend that you are going to play for- 
ward, and hold a stick in your hands. Now, 
moving your fingers as you come forward 
(see below), lunge with your left foot along 
a straight line, and send your head over 
your left foot. (If you tend to deviate 
from the line, probably towards the left, 
then exaggerate towards the right.) Keep 
your eye on the foot till the foot can take 
care of itself. Regard it as a servant that 
you must first watch carefully till the correct 
work shall have become half-automatic ; 



1 6 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

then only an occasional glance of super- 
vision will be required. Add to this lunge 
the extended lunge of the left wrist, elbow, 
and shoulder straight along a line parallel 
to and slightly to the right of the left foot. 
The stick should be lifted straight back and 
up before the stroke (though the blade of 
a bat, as in Racquets, will face outwards 
at the top of the lift), and should then come 
forward in a direct line close to the left 
foot, and afterwards follow through beyond 
the left foot. Do not forget to keep both 
that foot along its line and the left v/rist 
along its line by aiming say at some spot 
on the wall. i\fter the lunge with the 
whole weight, recover balance, look up, 
and prepare to run forward. Later on, 
do this and actually start forwards a few 
steps. That is part of the physical apparatus 
which a good average forward-stroke demands. 
There is no space to describe the require- 
ments of the other strokes — the cut, etc. 
They can easily be seen from the photo- 
graphs and from the play of experts. And 
some additional exercises will be offered under 
the special headings below. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 1 7 



PRACTICE OUTSIDE THE NETS. 

In addition to these and other movements, 
which may be tried at first either before a 
large mirror or else with a teacher behind to 
correct and perform correctly by way of 
instruction, Mr. Edward Lyttelton men- 
tions the practice of certain strokes with a 
ball in the pavilion. Any old room will do. 
And the narrower the implement of batting 
the more easily it will show the errors of 
batting ; the lighter the implement, the 
better it will develop pace and freedom. 
A stump or stick or broomstick will do ; a 
light indiarubber ball will do. 

If you cannot get a bowler, then you can 
throw the ball — a Lawn Tennis ball will 
do — up against a wall, and play forward or 
back to it with a stick. I know a player 
who did this with very good results. 

Games of '' Snob-cricket,'' and of Cricket 
with smaller ball and narrower bat, should 
be far more frequently tried for the sake 
of practice. 

Imaginary strokes may be made during 
idle moments. Fancy yourself playing 
straight forward with full weight, or fancy 



1 8 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

yourself stepping across and back with the 
right foot and then cutting with a jerk of 
shoulder and forearm and some wrist-flick. 
I do a great deal of Racquet and Tennis 
practice in this way ; needless to say^ I 
play infinitely better in imagination than in 
reality ! But I know that thus I help to 
make my ideal real. After such an imagina- 
tion-practice I often reproduce improved 
strokes with a light racket-handle in my 
bedroom. 

NET-PRACTICE. 

If too many bowlers are bowling at one 
net, the variety is bad ; in actual play one 
has no such variety in a single over. I 
would rather see three bowlers each bowl an 
over in turn, while the two others field. If 
you cannot reform this, then make the best 
of it by trying to remember the previous 
balls of each bowler, as if you were playing 
several games of chess at the same time. 

Begin on good wickets, so as to habituate 
confidence and pluck. Don't practise cor- 
rect Cricket (you can, however, practise the 
bold running-out game for a caking wicket) 
if the ground be fiery. Loss of nerve is 
fatal. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 19 

Play safely and gently till you get set ; 
defend against the difficult balls ; then, 
when you are set^ meet and hit every ball, 
except for the rare '' half-cock '' strokes 
to which you may have to resort. 

The next stage is to place the ball. While 
on the one hand you must count every chance 
you give, and every ball an inch or two 
from the bails, as a wicket down, you may, 
on the other hand, venture on experiments ; 
you may determine to hit a ball pitched too 
short or too far up to one of two or three 
places. 

Notice the sort of ball which beats you 
most frequently, and find out why it does 
so, and how you can best play it — perhaps 
this may be by stepping back or forwards 
and turning it into some other ball. 

Aim at developing your individual strong 
points, but 

(i.) Do not do this until you have mastered 
the fundamental elements of various strokes ; 
and 

(2.) Do not be content with this. Gradu- 
ally bring up your weak points to the level 
of your strong points. Indeed, practise 
them far more than your strong points. 



20 BATTING AND RUNNING. 



GAMES. 

While many hints must be reserved for 
the last section of this chapter, we may here 
say a few words about games as distinct 
from training, exercises, and net-practice ; 
though it will be necessary to touch on the 
importance of training, for success in the 
games. What better help is there against 
the nervousness so fatal to success than the 
habit of full and deep breathing ? Can 
you be nervous at all so long as you breathe 
fully and deeply ? What better help, to- 
wards the steadiness and confidence so im- 
portant to success, than the clear eye that 
comes from clean living, the feeling that 
the fingers '' nip '' the bat, the feeling that 
the correct mechanisms are under control, 
the self-reliance gained by net-practice on 
good pitches ? 

This steadiness is most necessary at the 
beginning of an innings. As we mentioned 
above, two of the great players tell us that at 
first they were content to defend, often merely 
to stop balls without attacking them. His- 
torians and natural historians and other 
scientists show us that each individual human 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 21 

being in itself reproduces quickly the past 
evolutions of the human race, being, for ex- 
ample, a seed, fish-like, reptile-like, ape- 
like, then man-like. So each individual in- 
nings may quickly reproduce the past stages 
of practice and progress, safety and defence 
coming before severity and attack, except 
where — as on some caking wickets — safety 
and defence consist in an apparently rash 
rushing out to smite. As a rule, however, 
no liberties should be taken until the bowling 
has been mastered and the eye is ''in.'' 
Time may be saved if one watches the previous 
batsmen and finds out how they get out. 
Moreover, just as Spofforth first tested the 
pitch and its pace and peculiarities on any 
given day, before he bowled his best, so a 
batsman may also test the pitch. 

For different pitches demand different 
plays — different mechanisms, different tactics. 
Few, like Shrewsbury, have a style adapted 
alike to the billiard-table ground and the 
drying-ground. Ranjitsinhji's book gives 
most useful remarks on these differences. 

While you are batting, count a chance as 
a blessed indication of error ; treat it as I 
treat a premonitory pain — do not wait for 
the illness itself, but find out and correct the 



22 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

mistake at once. You may have to ex- 
aggerate in the opposite direction — perhaps 
to play forward further out to the right 
than seems natural to you on that day. 

WAITING FOR THE BALL. 

Guard is taken not only to give one a sense 
of the direction of any ball^ but also to give 
one the correct place for the right foot : 
the toe of the right foot should be quite near 
to the block. Therefore one should not have 
a block either to the off (in which case the 
right toes might be in front of the wicket)^ or 
short and too near the wicket. 

Before and after taking guard one should 
look round to see how the field is placed. 

As to the waiting-position, one may try 
several and choose that which is the best 
basis and starting-pose for most ordinary 
strokes. But first one should develop the 
various muscles, especially those needed for 
the quick movements ; otherwise one might 
adopt an attitude suited for safe play when a 
more Jessop-like or at least a more Stoddart- 
like or Abel-like attitude might be better 
for one. A good attitude for many players 
will be Shrewsbury's as seen in the Photo- 
graph (L). The body should be nearly side- 
















W_.r,fr W^'^w^ 



9^^^4!Mf<l^ 




I. — Waiting for the ball, with the weight balanced almost evenly upon 
the two feet (which are near together), but rather on the right foot. 



{To face page 22. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 23 

ways, with the legs (or only the left leg) very 
slightly bent, and ready to move backwards 
or forwards. One should not be stiff, but 
should be inclined to looseness, until one knows 
which ball is coming ; till then one should 
be ready to run or jump out if it should be 
desirable. The feet should probably be quite 
near to one another, the right being near the 
crease and parallel to the wicket, the left 
outside the crease and pointing more to- 
wards the bowler. Probably both should 
be resting on their balls, and rather — so Mr. 
Fry advises — on the insides of their balls. 

The weight of most batsmen should be 
upon the right foot, the batsman's basis. 
Abel stands on the ball of his right foot ; 
that is good if one be quick-footed. Ranjit- 
sinhji explains some of the reasons why the 
weight should rest on the right foot — he 
instances several forms of exercise, such as 
boxing ; for Tennis and Racquets I have 
spent hours in practising quick movements 
in all directions with the stiff right leg as 
my pivot. The left foot may be shghtly up 
and prepared to move out along some forward 
line. In case of a late cut one has time to 
shift the weight on to it and make it the 
pivot. 



24 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

The bat is usually held with one hand 
near the top of the handle and the other 
hand near the middle of the handle ; if one 
holds the right hand lower down one gets 
more control^ but may lose some pace ; 
one is more apt to stoop^ and to lift the ball. 
But for some strokes^ as for certain late 
cuts^ the shifted grip is often preferable ; 
one should be able to slip the right hand down 
the handle towards the blade^ near to which 
so many of the stone-wallers love to keep it. 
As the right foot and leg hold the ground 
more firmly^ so does the right hand and wrist 
hold the bat more firmly, though there should 
be no tight and tense grip till the stroke 
is being made. One can — as Abel and 
Shrewsbury put it — '' feel the nip '' of the 
bat without any unnecessary tension. Not 
a few players have the grip of the two hands 
almost equal. 

The left elbow should be well up, so as to 
keep the handle of the bat nearer to the bowler 
and thus to prevent a chance of catches. 
And the whole body and head should be 
well up as the bowler begins to bowl, so that 
the best possible view may be given. 

One must watch the fingers and wrist and 
arm of the bowler ; a change in his fingers 



^r"v*^T;5^' ~;, C^^~ 




II. —Forward play : the bat has been drawn straight up and back (not 
;lin a curve) before the stroke. 



{To face page 25. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 



will mean a change of the ball he will bowl. 
Thus Hirst's balls will differ according to 
the way in which his fingers are arranged 
(see the photographs) . Abel generally watches 
the wrist rather than the fingers. 

While the bowler is bowling, one should 
usually draw the bat up and back, without 
flourish, in the line opposite to the line 
of the approaching ball. The photograph 
of Shrewsbury (IL) shows the bat lifted for a 
straight ball which he is going to play (not 
drive) straight forward. By lifting the bat 
one gets more impetus and can use one's 
height and weight better. 

Attention and alertness — these are to be 
maintained. '' This one thing I do now/' 
/' On this depends everything " ; such are 
samples of the suggestions which I often 
make to myself at my own games. Yet I 
try to economise energy and not to waste 
any of it ; attention without tension, alert- 
ness without fidgetiness — these are right. 

BACK-PLAY ; THE GLIDE ; THE HALF-COCK. 

'' Timing the ball is the secret," says 
Giffen. It is a secret, not the secret. Nor 
is it a simple rule ; timing is (see page 7) 
a concoction of many good things. 



26 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

A simpler general rule is not to leave a 
large space between the bat and the legs^ 
lest one should be bowled off one's pads. 
The photograph of Abel shows no intervening 
space at all. 

Another simple general (but not universal) 
rule is to end up — as in forward play — with 
the handle held by the first finger and thumb 
of the right hand and of the left ; the other 
three fingers scarcely have any influence 
here. The nails of all four fingers — as in 
the photograph — should face the bowler (or 
yourself if you were opposite a mirror). 
The bat must not be tilted upwards nor 
drawn back behind the line of the right foot^ 
which is firmly on the ground^ and is cer- 
tainly not drawn away to the leg-side. 

About the '' fixed right foot " there is — as 
we shall see — a great fallacy ; theory has 
been allowed to controvert the practice of 
the leading experts. Shrewsbury in the photo- 
graph (in.) has his right foot firm indeed^ 
and not shifted to the leg-side, but back 
almost to the wicket itself. W. G., in a photo- 
graph in Ranjitsinhji's book, has his right 
foot back, though not nearly so far back. 
I scarcely ever see a player whose regular 
habit is not to shift back his right foot some- 




III. — Playing back : the right foot has retired nearer the wicket, so as 
to give longer time for seeing the ball. 

Note. — The bat should be held straight. This photograph'^was taken 
before Shrewsbury was in practice. 



[ 7<? face fage 26. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. . 2/ 

what in back play. Shrewsbury will tell one 
to get back far enough^ moving back with 
the ball. This obviously gives one more 
time to see the ball and its break, turning 
a ball that is just a trifle short into a ball that 
is nearly a long hop ; if the legs be — as they 
often are — in front of the wicket, so as to 
give a still better sight of the ball and also 
to save a play-on, then the retreat of the 
right foot is obviously useful. Others, how- 
ever, do not move it in front of the wicket. 
But nearly all back-play is actually prac- 
tised with the retirement of the right foot. 
Murdoch's words are worth quoting at some 
length : — 

" In the majority of cases, my experience has been that, 
by moving the right foot as much or as Httle as judgment 
dictates, the stroke is made with far more ease than by 
having your right foot a fixture. If you will take the 
trouble to notice all players, you will see for yourself that 
in almost every case when they are playing back the right 
foot is always moved. And, again, you will find you have 
far more command and power over the ball, and especially 
so over a rising one, and you can finish your stroke in a 
far safer way. . . . My advice to you is to move the 
right foot when, in your judgment, it requires it ; if you 
find you can play the ball with ease by not moving it, 
well and good ; but should you at any time think you 
could play the ball better by getting back a little, why do 



28 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

SO, and you will find it will give you a particle more time 
and enable you to make things very much easier. 

" I think the art of boxing very applicable to forward and 
back play of cricket, for whilst boxing is nearly all forward 
strokes, there are many times when a boxer has to get 
back, and he generally finds what a great difference there 
is m receiving a hit whilst standing principally on his right 
foot, and when he has moved it a few inches in getting 
back. So it is with your back-play at cricket, the velocity 
of the ball is not so great two feet back from your crease as 
it is right on it. The advantage of time is no doubt 
momentary, but still it is an advantage, and one that I 
have proved and seen to be very beneficial." 

One kind of glide-stroke forms a special 
branch of back-play : it is to be seen in the 
photograph of Abel (IV.). Ranjitsinhji is the 
master of this most useful stroke ; he plays 
it for balls on the wicket as well as for balls 
to leg. Others use it chiefly or solely for 
balls off the wicket. For this stroke I 
believe every player has the right foot back. 
The bat's face is held not flat towards the 
bowler, but slanting in one of many direc- 
tions on the leg-side, according to the spot 
to which one wishes to place the ball. 

The '' half-cock " stroke is Grace's favourite 
help in time of trouble. When he hesitates 
between forward and back-play, and especially 
after he has decided on forward-play and 




IV. — The glide : both feet well back. 



[ To face page 28. 




v.— Playing back : right foot retired, to give extra time for seeing the 
ball ; weight on right foot. This is Shrewsbury's stroke when he 
feels "beaten " by the bowler. 



[To face page 29. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 29 

then doubts whether he can reach out near 
enough to the pitch of the ball to smother 
the ball, he is content to strike the ball 
scarcely at all, if at all, and to hold his bat 
half way between its forward and back posi- 
tions, and wait in hope. 

Shrewsbury, however, if the ball be straight, 
prefers to bring his bat straight down on to 
the block. He is to be seen doing this 
in the photograph (V.). 

It appears to me that, as most Lawn Tennis 
players learn back-play securely before they 
learn forward-play (play, i.e., at the net), so 
most cricketers should learn back-play se- 
curely ; they should learn to play forward, 
of course ; but, as Mr. C. B. Fry says, they 
should not learn that only. Inasmuch as 
back-play is the easier and more natural — 
except for the art of not drawing away the 
right foot towards the leg side — it should 
probably precede the mastery of forward- 
play, towards which mastery the '' half- 
cock " stroke might form a transition step. 

FORWARD-PLAY AND SAFE DRIVING. 

There may be days when scarcely any 
forward-play is needed ; there may be ex- 
perts who prefer back-play even on fast and 



30 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

true pitches^ just as Mr. A. W. Gore, the 
amateur Lawn Tennis champion of 1901, 
prefers habitual back-play at his game. 
But every player should be able to play 
forward, particularly to swift good-length 
balls on quick plumb-wickets which are either 
too dry or else too slippery to bite the ball 
and allow it to break ; on the fast slippery 
wickets, however, forward-play must be ac- 
curate, because of the occasional shooter. 
Besides the safety of such forward-play, 
since it can smother the ball, there is the 
extra delight of meeting if not of attacking, 
and also of performing a movement which 
is not by any means natural— the extra delight 
of overcoming a mechanical difficulty. 

We may begin to study this forward-play 
(for which we have already offered certain 
exercises — see above) by a couple of quota- 
tions from well-known writers. 

^^ The golden rules to guide the beginner 
in playing forward may be very briefly stated. 
(i.) Play forward when the ball is fairly 
well pitched up, but remember that the 
faster the bowling and the faster the wicket 
the more frequently will forward-play be the 
safer style of play. (2.) Keep the bat quite 




VI. — Playing forward to a ball on the off : the straight bat has passed 
near and beyond the left foot in a "follow-through." Notice the 
fingers, especially the first finger and thumb of the left hand. At the 
end of the stretch the left arm is fully extended, and the right heel 
has come off the ground. 



[Between pages 30 and 3 1 . 



"i '-- f,^: 



'^i 




VII.— Playing forward to a ball slightly to the leg side : see remark 
on previous photograph, and notice the head well over the bat- 
handle. 



\^Bet ween pages 30 a7id 31. 




VIII. — Playing forward to a straight ball : see remarks on previous 

photographs. 



[Between pages 30 and 31.. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 3 1 

straight and the left shoulder and elbow well 
forward. (3.) Get as near to the pitch of 
the ball as possible. (4.) Do not put the bat 
further forward than the level of the left 
foot, which ought to be thrown right for- 
ward.'' 

'' No forward-stroke is absolutely safe un- 
less the ball is smothered. There are many 
very beautiful strokes effected by forward- 
play at the rising ball. Such strokes, how- 
ever, are purely plumb- wicket strokes.'' 

In the face of this latter quotation, and 
of (3) of the first quotation, and in the face 
of the habitual practice of many leading 
experts (see Photographs VI., VII., VIII., of 
Abel and Shrewsbury) in following through 
with the bat beyond the left foot, the state- 
ment in (4) is absurd. And yet, as we shall 
see in the Chapter on Fallacies, it appears in 
almost every work on Cricket. 

Personally I should far sooner see the 
general rule stated as follows : — 

'' At the root of good ordinary forward- 
play lies extension both direct (not curved) 
and well-timed and well-co-ordinated (not 



32 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

too early or too late, and not piece by piece 
— for example, first the foot, then the left 
elbow), and fast and powerful (not slow 
and tame), and full (not arrested) ; at the 
root of it lies such extension of right leg, 
left foot, left shoulder, left elbow, left wrist ; 
hut within the limits of power ^ and of balance 
or rapid recovery of balance'' When Abel 
or Shrewsbury can thus safely and strongly 
reach out an extra fifteen inches beyond 
the left foot, and thus smother a ball and 
its break, why forbid it ? If only in case a 
ball hangs a bit, and also for the sake of the 
follow-through — I believe that nearly every 
ball-game stroke demands a follow-through — 
such a passing of the blade's end beyond the 
left foot may be advisable. 

Be this as it may — and it must be settled 
by practice, not by theory — at any rate 
the law holds good that for ordinary ground- 
play (as distinct from the drive out of the 
ground) the left wrist must come before the 
right, the right shoulder being kept down. 

The base, the safe a(i>of)iir) of forward-play, 
is the firm right foot (nearly parallel to the 
three wickets) and the straight right leg. 
From this base the left leg has, as it were, 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 33 

to radiate forward in one or another straight 
hne towards the approaching balls ; not 
straight at those balls^ but a few inches to 
one's left ; certainly not necessarily straight 
forward down the line from wicket to wicket, 
as the forward play of Abel to a ball on the 
off will show (see Photograph VI.) ; in fact, 
to a left hand bowler round the wicket one 
should as^^^^^Ig^^^^T^s^long this line, 
but aloi^ ^ hi^^^^^rofe^to^rds to one's 
right, frhe left ^ toe pom^ an A the left foot 
moves, Vo)^ t^r but towaras the.j/ne of the ap- 
proachin^^^^^Jt^j.^].pwance^^^ made for a 
curl or a bim^r ^ i S4 t'^ '^ w^falter this line. It 
is the line that the ball will be making just 
when it strikes the bat (or, rather, just when 
it is struck by the bat) that has to be met by 
the bat, which must move in a line a few 
inches to the right of the left foot. The line 
both of left foot and of bat must be direct, 
not curved. 

Over one's bat comes one's head : as Abel 
says, one must get above the ball and smell 
it. The bat itself, for ground-play, must 
not be tilted with its blade nearer to the 
bowler than its handle is, lest a catch be 
sent up. Its direction from the line ^ when 
one lifts it before the stroke (see Photo- 

3 



34 BATTING AND RUNNING. 



graph 11.)^ right up to the end of the follow- 
through (see Photograph VIII.), must be as 
straight as possible ; like a boxer's blow 
straight from the shoulder, and not like the 
swirling arm of the unskilled navvy, even if 
both these movements might reach the same 
goal eventually. The curved line means a 
loss of time and of power, as well as a risk — 
for it allows a smaller margin of error. 

The stroke should be all in one piece, 
the power beginning when the bat is near 
to the left leg, and of course reaching its 
fulness from each part of the mechanism 
just when the blade hits the ball. 

To what part of the mechanism would one 
do best to attend ? The firm right foot is 
the base, the point d'appui^ the terminus 
a quo, I should say that the terminus ad 
quem^ the point of limit, should be the out- 
side joint of the left wrist. Let that go right 
out to its stretch. Most of us, by taking 
thought, can add an inch or so to our reach. 
I added two inches to mj^ (easy) forward 
reach within two months. 

The hand's grip should change as the left 
wrist shoots outward. In the waiting posi- 
tion the bowler (or you yourself in a mirror) 
can see the back of your left hand ; then 




IX.— Position UL lictii^:, cxiiui iiiig^xo cu ti.v end of the forward stroke : 
the left hand has shifted round, the right hand holds the bat with 
thumb and first finger only. 



\To face page 35. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 35 

back and up goes the bat — not too far^ 
but enough to get power (my own ordinary 
Tennis and Racquet strokes and many a 
golfer's ordinary strokes go up and back quite 
a short way as compared with the old-fash- 
ioned '' complete '' swing) ; then^ as the bat 
comes down and forward, you yourself (if you 
had not your eye on the ball) should be able to 
see the back of your bat and above it the back 
of your left hand (as in Photograph IX. of 
Shrewsbury's hands). So far as the left 
side is concerned, the stroke is an exaggera- 
tion of a left-handed backhand stroke, ex- 
cept that the thumb in cricket does not sup- 
port the handle as it often does in Racquets. 

If any one cannot yet play forward, but 
wishes to learn the art, let him practise 
(as I have recently done) this turn of the 
fingers, this outward stretch of left wrist, 
left elbow, left shoulder, straight along a line, 
full, swift, weighty. It is amazing how soon 
the straight line can become easy if one 
works faithfully along a line upon the floor 
and opposite a mirror, correcting all errors 
by the opposite exaggerations, but first of all 
securing the foundation — the long straight 
lunge of the left foot. Sandow and all high 
authorities say, Throw the whole will, focus 

3* 



J 



6 BATTING AND RUNNING. 



the whole attention^ concentrate the whole 
mind^ fix the whole vital force ^ upon the 
muscles which you are using ; first do this 
upon the left foot^ then upon the left wrist 
(if not upon the handle of the bat^ strange 
as it may sound). 

Having acquired this free forward line^ 
then practise a speedy recovery of balance 
afterwards, and a readiness to start running. 
Later on^ add to these two a few actual steps. 
Eventually, though you may have had to 
conquer each mechanism by itself, as I con-' 
quered every part of my Tennis and Racquet 
strokes separately, yet you will be able to 
combine them together so harmoniously that 
no one will guess or believe how you gained 
your stroke. It appears so exactly like a 
unity, so exactly like one single action — 
that lunge with full weight, and recovery 
of equilibrium — that people tell me I never 
could have learnt it part-by-part. But I did. 
I can tell every part, though now the 
whole move is a unit. There is absolutely 
no necessity to begin by doing the whole 
stroke at once, so long as eventually you can 
combine the various members of it into a 
harmonious whole. Otherwise any one in- 
dividual bad part may spoii the whole effect. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 37 



This correct stroke frustrates the bowler's 
attempt to make you tilt up your bat's 
blade and send a catch : having your left 
wrist well forward beyond your right, you 
keep your strokes down. Another common 
fault besides the tilted bat is the crooked 
bat, the bat of which the blade is too far 
to the off ; this fault is obviated chiefly by 
the straight right leg : bend the right leg, 
and the tendency is for both these faults to 
appear. 

Forward play may be either defensive or 
offensive. The latter kind merges into the 
ground-drive. In either case the average- 
eyed person must get to the pitch of the 
ball and smother it, or must not play forward, 
but either do the half-cock stroke or else 
step back and give himself the largest pos- 
sible time in which to see the ball's flight. 
The defensive should as a rule precede the 
offensive, both while one is learning to play 
forward and also while one is beginning any 
innings at a net or in a game. A few for- 
ward stretches before play will perhaps save 
a premature dismissal through stiffness. 

In forward ground-driving the rule of not 
letting the bat's blade go beyond the left 
foot is far more reasonable. One must get 



38 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

well over the ball, the power coming chiefly 
from just that jerk of shoulder, fore-arm, 
and wrist which Latham and Pettitt and a 
few others use at Racquets — ^thejerk of some 
whippers of peg-tops. But for this drive the 
bat need not move quite so near to the left 
foot. Moreover the bat may finish up with 
a smaller follow- through. Let the forward 
left elbow arrest the swing of the right arm, 
lest the bat be tilted and the ball rise : that 
wrench of the left elbow-joint is a satisfac- 
tory sign. 

The forward off-drive (for a ball not 
coming at the wicket) allows of a far freer 
swing, and, if you see it well, of a far less 
straight bat. It needs more right wrist and 
less left elbow restraint. Indeed, it may end 
up with the bat over the left shoulder. 
Photograph XIII. shows Abel's position for 
such a drive, though the position is better 
suited for a cut-drive. 

For the forward on-drive the left foot is 
pointed out towards mid~on. 

THE PULL AND HIGH DRIVE. 

There used to be a fallacy that the pull 
was bad form because it was ungraceful ; 
but now-a-days grace is of little account 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 39 

unless it is useful. Hirst's pull will count 
as four, while graceful '' good form '' will 
courteously return the same ball to the 
bowler and score nothing. It was W. G. 
and his brother who subordinated so-called 
art to utilitarianism. The only valid ob- 
jection to the pull is that it is most dan- 
gerous as a habitual stroke ; whereas for a 
full pitch or a long hop it may be, as Shrews- 
bury says, least dangerous as well as most 
paying, since it may need less power and 
may go to a part of the ground least thickly 
studded with fielders. 

The mistake is not in the pulling per se^ but, 
as Ranjitsinhji insists, in the choice of the 
wrong ball for pulling, or else — we may add 
— in the wrong way of pulling the right 
ball. 

As there is elsewhere a forward-play as 
well as a back-play, so there is with pulls. 
Abel is shown giving a forward pull, in 
Photograph X. ; notice that the left foot 
is right out so that the bat gets well to the 
pitch of the ball. If one could always en- 
sure that, pulling would be the best stroke 
in the game. This step out adds to the safety 
of the pull when the ball will pitch say two 
yards from the batsman. 



40 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

The back-play pull is for a shorter ball. 
Hirst is making such a pull in Photograph 
XL (and Photograph XII. which represents 
a different kind of pull by Shrewsbury). 
Hirst has moved back and turned a some- 
what short ball into a long hop. Into 
this stroke he will put the full body-swing 
from the hips. He might do this stroke 
equally well with a good full pitch to the off. 
To run out (either to slow bowling or to 
ordinary bowling on a difficult wicket) and 
then to ^WoUey '' round to leg used to be the 
one stroke that I could do reasonably well. 
Even then I often erred in running out timidly 
and in using my wrists rather than my trunk 
and shoulders. 

Whereas the long hop and the ordinary 
full pitch may be placed thus^ the half- 
volley can seldom be safely pulled. It 
is hard to direct. But with all these 
strokes^ whether pulls or drives^ the law 
of '' the left elbow and wrist well for- 
ward to prevent catches '' may be ignored 
if one can get to the pitch of the ball 
by coming forward^ or else get it as a long 
hop by stepping back, and then can place 
it safely away from any fielder. If one 
can, then one need never mind about send- 




XI. — Preparing to pull a short ball : right foot across, so as to help the 
stroke well round to leg. 



[Belzveen pages 40 and 41 




XII.— Preparing to pull a short ball : right foot across and well back 
so as to make the short ball still shorter. 



{^Between pages 40 and ^i. 




XIII. — Hook-Stroke to leg : both feet well back, but weight on right 

foot. 



\_Between pages 40 and 41. 




XIV. — Cut-drive. Right leg firm and straight, left leg bent and well 

across. 



[To face page 41. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 4 1 

ing high balls or playing with a crooked 
bat. 

The useful hook-stroke to leg is seen in 
Photograph XIII. 

CUTTING. 

Ranjitsinhji rightly distinguishes several 
kinds of cuts, and advanced players must 
be referred to his book for details. Here 
one must be content to notice the cut-drive 
(forward-play to some spot between point 
and extra-cover, as in Photograph XIV. of 
Abel), and the late-cut (back-play to some 
spot between point and short slip, as in the 
photographs of Abel and Shrewsbury). Here 
once more we have forward and back play, 
the latter allowing more time. 

The cut-drive is good for a short ball on 
the off. The left foot is sent out to the off, 
the bat swings back and generally somewhat 
up, very much as it does to the pull-drive. 
Abel is seen preparing for a cut-drive in 
Photograph XIV. He will get right on to 
the top of the ball. 

The downward movement, for the sake of 
safety, apphes also to the late-cut, with 
regard to which we have already exposed 
the fallacy that it is a stroke done entirely 



42 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

with the wrists.* The wrists may do some 
of the directing at the last moment^ but the 
large movement and the force is usually 
given chiefly by the fore-arm-jerk^ the 
shoulder-jerk^ a little trunk-movement^ and 
(with some players) the step with the right 
foot across the wicket. Let a hundred 
experts make imaginary or real late-cuts 
for half-an-hour, and I guarantee that the 
wrists will not be the only parts that ache. 
Indeed I have seen many players cut safely 
and effectively with absolutely rigid wrists. 
As I have already said, the motion is nearer 
to that of shaking out a stylographic pen 
or whipping a peg-top ; it is akin to the 
Racquet stroke of Latham or the Tennis 
stroke of Pettitt. Watch the forearm and 
the shoulder of a stripped player, and this 
will be clear. 

The late-cut is most safely used against 
fast and not too short bowling on a 
quick pitch ; it does not oppose the ball's 
flight, but rather increases or at least directs 
that flight. It is not to be rashly tried 

* Murdoch's words will serve as a good example. ''To cut well, 
you must be able to time the ball well, for the effectiveness of your 
stroke is entirely due to your proper timing and your wrist work, for 
you need to use your wrists more in making this stroke than in any 
other. ' ' 




XV. — The late cut : right foot well across, left leg extended so far as 
to bring heel off ground. 



[Betwee)i pages 42 a7id 43. 




XVI. — The late cut : right foot well across, left leg extended. 



[Betweeit pages 42 and 43. 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 43 



against slow bowling, especially if this breaks 
much, on a slow or caking wicket ; for it 
needs very accurate timing. 

In this late-cut the right leg is moved 
back and across the wicket (see Photograph 
XIV. of Shrewsbury's legs), so that the 
left leg and foot now does what the right 
leg and foot do for the other strokes — namely, 
serve as a pivot. Some move the right foot 
and then make the stroke ; I believe Ran- 
jitsinhji generally prefers this plan. Others, 
like Abel, often make the stroke as a single 
movement. Others use now one plan and 
now the other. Anyhow the weight passes 
from the left on to the right leg, which is 
bent. Shrewsbury, in the photograph (XV.), 
is allowing his left foot to rise slightly on 
its ball. Contrast Abel, in XVI. 

He does not alter his ordinary grip, and 
he uses his wrists a good deal ; others let 
their right hand slide down the handle to- 
wards the blade, and sometimes let their 
left hand slide after it. The bat strikes 
downwards, passing about twelve inches 
over the wicket. 

The direction of the cut is most important : 
this depends partly on the presence or ab- 
sence of a wrist movement, partly, as Ran- 



44 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

jitsinhji says, on the moment at which one 
strikes the ball — the earlier hit goes squarer 
(nearer to point), the later hit goes finer 
(nearer to short slip). 

The late-cut involves not a little risk. 
It may be well at the beginning of an innings 
to study the art of 

LEAVING BALLS ALONE. 

A good length or '' blind '' ball on the off- 
side, and a certain kind of bumping long 
hop (almost out of one's reach) are intended 
for a catch behind the wicket. Some may 
be cut or driven, but it would be safer to 
let a few pass by (unless they are going to 
break in) till one sees what they are doing. 
The continued practice of this plan is not for 
the good of Cricket as a form of sport. 

The use of the legs to defend the wicket 
has been another much - discussed topic. 
Ranjitsinhji rightly points out that it re- 
quires skill and is not unknown in the play 
of the best experts. Here as elsewhere the 
fault lies less in the use than in the excessive 
use. 

MOVING OUT. 

If Shrewsbury and others have been cen- 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 45 



sured as too cautious in letting certain balls 
alone^ and in playing certain other balls 
with their pads instead of their bats, the 
runner-out is censured for the opposite 
reason — for a ridiculous rashness. This is 
a fallacy. To run out is often the safest 
policy : it may mean to smother an other- 
wise difficult ball. Abel and Jessop, like 
Latham at Racquets and Tennis, pl^y with 
their feet as much as with their heads. The 
best illustration that occurs to me of '' the 
wisdom of anticipation '' (stigmatized as 
'' the folly of rashness '') is the running up 
to volley or half- volley the service at Rac- 
quets. Often one can take a ball best by 
letting it nearly fall to the ground at its 
second bounce — that is, by turning into a 
'' long hop '' ; but if it be a good length 
service, or one with a heavy cut, it may be 
more prudent to run up and thus change it 
into a comparatively harmless plaything, as 
a child may deal with a snake by fearless 
handling. Murdoch is most emphatic on 
this point, when he says : — '' No, I think 
the feet play very important parts in batting, 
and both of them should have the greatest 
scope possible. I advise all players to learn 
to use their feet quickly and well, and it 



46 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

will be the means of getting you out of 
many a difficulty. By being able to get to 
a ball quickly you make it an easy one 
where if you had remained in your crease 
you would have found it a most difficult 
one to stop. Once you get into the way of 
doing this you will never move the right 
foot unless you require to do so to make 
your stroke. In all forward play it is abso- 
lutely necessary for you to keep the right 
foot well on the ground.'' 

There are three ways of moving out to a 
ball; in all three ways one must not draw 
the right foot away^ but one must keep the 
right foot as the pivot ; and one must come 
out wholeheartedly, not hesitatingly. 

Shrewsbury will often jump out, coming 
down on to his right foot first with his body- 
weight upon its ball. He who tries this 
should be prepared to keep his balance and 
if necessary to jump back again into his 
ground. 

Most others run out sideways with small 
or large steps. See Photograph XVII. 

Abel runs out more quickly than these. 
His legs, as it were, intertwine neatly in the 
way shown in Photograph XVIII. His first 
step, with the left foot, is well across the 








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BATTING AND RUNNING. 47 

wicket and towards the off-side ; his second 
step^ with the right foot ; the action may 
be repeated. 

This sideways running is not easy : it 
needs considerable practice backwards and 
forwards before one can not only do it but 
also maintain one's poise and be ready to 
hit the ball afterwards. A jump or a run 
outj even with a loss of poise, may be far 
better policy than to wait for a '' teaser.'' 
Two quotations from high authority are 
worth citing here. 

''I do not think that batsmen run out 
enough at slow bowling or at lobs. For 
some undiscovered reason, there is a floating 
idea that running out and rashness are 
synonymous. As a matter of fact, to 
run out is often the safest thing one can 
do. It makes a difficult ball into an easy 
one, and often enables the batsman to 
make a forcing-stroke along the ground in- 
stead of a risky high-drive. The man who 
plays cautiously is invariably regarded with 
reverence and favour by those who know. 
He is supposed to play the correct game. 
He often ties himself into extraordinary 
knots by playing what he considers a safe 



48 BATTING AND RUNNING. 



game, when the only safe course is to play a 
dashing game. There are some players who, 
not being quick on their feet, ought never 
to run out/' 

'' A running-out stroke should be played 
with the same amount of care and concen- 
tration as a back-stroke. There is an air of 
abandon about quick-footed players which is 
very deceptive ; they often run out to meet 
the ball, because they feel safer in doing so 
than in staying at home.'' 

Short balls or balls well off the wicket are 
seldom to be met in this way unless one is 
a Jessop. But whatever ball be anticipated 
in this way let it be sought with full pace and 
intent to "^ volley". If one must be stumped, 
then, as Grace and others say, one may just 
as well be many yards out of one's ground 
as be only one yard of it. 

RUNNING. 

An obvious advantage in moving out is 
that, if your partner is backing up, you have 
every chance of making a safe run. 

Quick starting and quick moving between 
the wickets are little cultivated. Yet a 
game of tip-and-run will show how many 
runs can be stolen. Too little account is 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 49 

taken of the pace at which the ball has been 
hit, the place to which it has been hit^ the 
individual to whom it has been hit, the side 
of that individual^ left or right^ to which 
it has been hit^ and so on. 

The general rule is that the player in 
whose sight the struck ball appears most 
clearly (namely^ the batsman for balls in 
front of him^ his partner for balls behind 
him) shall call at once and call loudly. The 
non-caller shall either trust and obey, or else 
immediately call a loud '' No.'' 

Both players should start at once from 
their right toes, and should run the first 
run as briskly as if a second were sure to 
follow. Giffen laments the small care paid 
to this art. He says : — 

'' One most important point connected 
with batting is running between the wickets. 
Really it is almost heartrending to see the 
immense number of runs, to say nothing 
of the wickets, which are lost through bad 
judgment. A batsman wants to study the 
pace at which a ball is travelling.'' 

The non-batsman should back up well ; a 
few yards may be gained in this way, and 

4 



50 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

also by the habit of running the bat along 
the ground just inside the crease. 

A useful position for turning at the crease 
is to be seen in Photograph XIX. ^ of Shrews- 
bury. By the rapid change while the bat is 
held at full stretch one may gain an appre- 
ciable amount of time and space. 



GENERAL HINTS. 

The first pieces of advice to all players of 
games will be, '' Get at the reason why, and 
the means by which.'' Why should one not 
flourish the bat before a stroke ? Partly 
because this sends the bat out of the straight 
line and loses time. Why should one move 
the bat near to the left foot in forward-play ? 
Partly because this will give power by keep- 
ing the weight of the body near to the bat, 
and because it will give safety, by allowing 
no space for the ball to pass between bat and 
leg. Merely to say to a beginner '' Don't 
be afraid of the ball " may not be enough ; 
he should know that, if he draws his right 
foot towards the leg-side, he will lose his 
pivot and will tend not to play the ball down 
and not to meet it along its line of approach. 
If he bends his right leg, the same result 










^ 
2 









BATTING AND RUNNING. 51 

may follow. How can he keep the ball down 
and meet it along its line of approach ? By 
attending to his left foot in practice, or by 
getting some one to watch his practice or 
play from behind. 

Having found out and mastered the mus- 
cular mechanisms as well as the raisons 
d'etre for each of them, let the learner be 
prepared to try new things and to judge 
them by their results. In January, 1902, 
in my thirty-fourth year, I changed my 
Racquet and Tennis stroke from a full 
swing to a more '' partial '' jerk. In case 
it did not suit me, I was prepared to go back 
to the old. As a matter of fact, the new 
did suit me. 

In this case I imitated Latham and (to 
some extent) Pettitt. They were of about 
my own height. I did not imitate slavishly 
or in trust, but in hope and because I saw 
good sense in what they did. In Cricket 
many might hold that even slavish imita- 
tion is better than rank failure. 

To take an example. Few batsmen play 
well on difficult wickets. Shrewsbury does. 
I would sooner imitate his style and methods 
on difficult wickets than go on failing to 
score. There is no particular reason why 



52 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

his style and methods should not turn out 
to be mine as well. I cannot tell till I 
have experimented. 

The batsman^ as Mr. C. B. Fry says, 
should be able to play all games and strokes 
— forward, back, cut, and, let us add, tip 
and run. He must be able to keep his 
wicket up, to stop good balls (as Shrews- 
bury advises) and then punish bad balls ; 
but he must also be able to force the game, 
especially if the bowling be too hard to en- 
able him to stay in long. 

Especially should he be '' nippy on his 
feet '' — AbeFs rule. He need not use them 
always, but he must be ready to use them. 
So with the pull : he must not be tied down 
by a law '' Thou shalt not pull.'' A short 
ball can often be pulled quite safely : it need 
not always be hit to mid-off. Scarcely any 
rule is absolute. We hear that the right 
leg should not be bent. Good. But when 
we see Grace hitting effectively to the on 
with a decidedly bent right leg, we suspect 
that there may be times when this is useful. 
It is only as general rules for most people 
that maxims are to be laid down. '' Stand 
upright '' says the theorist ; he even quotes 
successful examples. But the individual may 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 53 

be nearer to Stoddart or Jessop than to 
Palairet. Let the individual try both ways^ 
if not in games, then at the nets. 

Reserve some force, says Mr. R. Lyttelton 
in the Badminton Volume ; Ranjitsinhji 
agrees — since the use of the full force may 
'' give one away '' and lose the balance. 
But Shrewsbury says, '' Use the full force ; 
a mis-hit then has more chance of going 
over the head of cover or some other fielder.'' 
Keep the ball down — that is a good enough 
rule ; but if you can hit the ball safely 
away from or over the head of a fielder, 
why not ? Again, we hear that the batsman 
should not stand with any part of his body 
in front of his wicket ; yet many find it 
useful to do so, especially in case they snick 
the ball and might otherwise play on. An- 
other hint that may not always be helpful 
is '' not to make up your mind what you 
will do until the bowler's intention has 
shown itself ; for, if you decide, he will 
alter his intention." This presupposes that 
the bowler is observant and intelligent, 
whereas ordinary bowlers are not. In Rac- 
quets, on the same principle, I have been told 
not to pledge myself to any set action before 
the server has served ; that is sound sense 



54 BATTING AND RUNNING. 

SO long as the server is likely to vary his 
service ; whereas, if I know that he is going 
to pound away with the same sort of thing 
all the time, I should waste energy by per- 
petual alertness. I take for granted that 
the fool will serve foolishly, and I virtually 
settle my policy beforehand. It is not every 
bowler who demands alertness. 

Of wider and more nearly universal appli- 
cation are such hints as '' Face the left-hand 
bowler round the wicket differently from the 
bowler over the wicket ; move your left foot 
out on different lines '' ; '' Don't try risky 
attack till you are sure of safe defence, un- 
less the wicket be extremely difficult '' ; 
'* Don't attempt to place a half- volley very 
accurately " ; '' Watch and observe the or- 
dinary curves and breaks of the ball accord- 
ing to this or that action '' ; '' Notice how 
others as well as yourself are most apt to get 
out off certain balls — say off the breaking 
ball well-pitched up on the off '' ; '' Practise 
wicket-keeping occasionally '' ; '' Study each 
bowler's action before you go in " ; '' When 
you go in, be careful at first of touching balls 
on the off " ; '' Get the blind spots of the 
pitch in your mind's eye, so as to tell whether 
to play back or forward : the bhnd spot 



BATTING AND RUNNING. 55 

varies according to the pace of the ball, the 
state of the ground, etc/' ; '' Get in your 
mind's eye a picture of the fielders; and, 
when you are set, place the easier balls 
between those fielders ; but keep your real 
eye on the ball from the instant that it has 
left the bowler's hand " ; '' Find out your 
faults and practise the opposite faults." 
As Mr. Edward Lyttelton says, ''If it ap- 
pears that your strokes habitually fail to 
tell as they should, it will probably be owing 
to your body not being properly utilized, 
and a spell of bed room practice should at 
once be inaugurated." You can even culti- 
vate the opposite fault during the game itself. 
This is my habit during Tennis and Racquets 
matches : if I find myself playing too soon 
at the ball, I purposely try to play too late. 



56 



CHAPTER II. 

BOWLING. 

" Every cricketer should be able to bowl when called 
upon to do so by his captain. Every man who has played 
cricket has bowled at a net, and he certainly has an action 
which is different from everybody else's." — J^rom the Bad- 
minton Volume. 

" Anything that improves bowling even a little is to be 
looked upon as an unmixed boon to the game. The num- 
ber of bowlers who have hitherto made an honest attempt 
to acquire the knack is extremely small, so that we need 
not forecast from the past what the future might be." — 
Edward Lyttelton, 

INTRODUCTORY. 

More bowlers and better bowlers are sadly 
needed if amateurs are to hold their own 
against professionals in other games besides 
Lawn Tennis and Ping-pong. Bowlers are 
more and more needed in these days of 



BOWLING. 57 



good pitches^ when the caking ground, 
the bowler's conjuror, cannot be had to 
order. 

The cause of the behindhandness of bowl- 
ing is partly the excellence of the plumb- 
wicket, partly the rise of the Pro bowler 
(without a corresponding rise of the Pro 
or Amateur fielder), and partly the conse- 
quent head-play demanded of the bowler, 
who to-day must think hard and must also 
he hard — must endure. But the cause lies 
less in the degeneracy of the bowler than in 
the progress of the batsman and his chances 
of scoring, the use of the heavy roller 
(to which Mr. R. H. Lyttelton so often 
calls attention), and last but not least the 
fatal theory that the bowler is born not 
made. 

Of course the bowler is born — who isn't ? 
But whether or no he may be made if the 
right means be adopted, remains to be ascer- 
tained by experiment, the only teacher. 
We must suspend judgment, must insist 
on £7rox//, until some sort of method of 
making a bowler has been fairly tried. We 
freely grant a certain '' luck '' in the find- 
ing of a natural action with free swing and 
fine break. Yet we may still believe that 



58 ' BOWLING. 



proper practice, as distinct from casual and 
persistent plugging, may work wonders. 

Anyhow, all should learn to bowl a bit, 
not only for their own pleasure and in order 
to get a place in a team, but also because 
the future of Cricket largely depends on the 
excellence and the variety of the bowling. 

More and superior bowlers are urgently 
wanted, whether wicket-keeping and field- 
ing be improved or not (of course the worse 
the fielding is, the better the bowling must 
be) ; whether batting be cramped or not 
(see the Chapter on Reforms) ; and whether 
the conditions of bowling be improved or 
not, as by the smaller bat, the larger wicket, 
the shorter innings, the artificial pitch to 
take the full break, and so on. 

There is a great opening for every one 
who can learn to bowl. Is there no practical 
advice to be offered besides such hints as : 
'' Bowl naturally,'' '' Have an easy swing,'' 
'' Get the length," '' Put on a break," " Use 
a high action," '' Vary and conceal the 
pace, etc." ? At present no writer says, 
'' Develop the right muscles rightly first." 
No writer seems to have sought what muscles 
are used by most good bowlers, and how they 
may best be developed. As to the exer- 



BOWLING. 59 



cisers and developers, they are in my 
opinion excellent for mere increase in the 
size of certain muscles, for weight-lifting, 
for rowing, for gymnastics, for pushing in 
the football scrum, but infamously worse 
than useless for bowling purposes until speed 
has already been acquired. Later on, we 
shall expose a few fallacies about bowling, 
especially the fallacy that premature failure 
means perpetual disability, whereas the real 
fault may lie with the undeveloped mechanism 
of bowling ; thus I myself after a few weeks 
of bedroom-practice had added an inch to 
the upward extension of my arm, and can 
move my wrist and fingers freely in more 
directions than before. 

The first thing is to find out what muscles 
are used and how. This we may do by 
watching good bowlers like Hirst, and by 
asking them, at the beginning of the season, 
where they ache. These muscles we may 
practise by fast full movements and fast 
arrested movements, not by strain-exercises. 
Thus, when we find the first finger of the 
expert nearly worn out, we may conclude 
that this finger is a potent factor in success. 
Till we can use it, let us not despair. This 
is only one example. Personally I do not see 



6o BOWLING. 



how any one could expect to bowl decently 
with trunk, shoulder, wrist, and fingers as 
stiff as mine were. 

Having found out the mechanisms, we 
must secure them ; we must be content 
with nothing short of mastery, especially 
in these days of plumb-wickets. The be- 
ginning need not be too fast ; medium 
bowlers have succeeded as well as fast, and 
have lasted longer. 

And now as to the 

ORDER OF LEARNING. 

Bowling is in Cricket very much what 
serving is (or should be) in Racquets and 
Tennis ; very much the same order can be 
observed as in these games, apart from the 
bowling at nets, at a stump, and against a 
wall — all of which are useful afterwards. 

I. First comes the mechanism, the control 
of the requisite muscles and combinations of 
muscles. For this control certain exercises 
may be outlined ; they are suggestive rather 
than complete. Let each reader and teacher 
add his own. But the mechanism must be- 
come easy before the would-be bowler de- 
cides which style he will adopt. Otherwise 




XX. — Bowling, third position : bowling arm extended fully forwards 
and downwards, body facing forwards, back leg fully extended. 



\To face page 6i. 




XXI. — Bowling, second position : bowling arm extended fully 
upwards, body coming round with arm. 



\_To face page 6i. 



BOWLING. 6 1 



what is naturally easy may be practically 
uneconomical or risky, as almost every one 
of my '' natural '' movements at any game 
seems to have been. Let the beginner begin 
without a ball. 

a. Notice the extension of the back leg in 
Hirst's photograph (XX.) ; that is a 
simple yet important item. The hand and 
shoulder are extended fully backwards and 
downwards. 

&. The arm reaches upwards and, in some 
cases, outwards. Try that, without strain- 
ing. Having formed the full extension (do not 
neglect the extra inch that the shoulder can 
give), then point upwards with your first and 
middle fingers, and, keeping them as far as 
possible in the same direction, turn the arm 
round quickly in both ways. It is as if you 
wished to visit a distant possession of your 
kingdom and were not content merely to 
reach it but wished to take aii excursion 
when you had reached it — to become more 
familiar with it. The top of the stretch will 
be seen in Ranjitsinhji's book, in the photo- 
graphs on pp. 76, 79, 90, 99, loi, 104 (First 
Edition), as well as in the one of Hirst in 
this volume (XXI.) Abel says : — 



62 BOWLING. 



'' Before you settle on any particular style 
of bowling, try various plans, and that which 
is easiest and most effective you should prac- 
tise continually, but I should strongly recom- 
mend the high delivery." 

An exception is when you have some good 
leg-fielders, and dare to imitate W. G/s 
effective low action round the wicket. 

c. The sideways position of the body 
during the moment of delivery (see Hirst) 
seems more usual than the position facing 
the batsman. This means some of that body- 
swing which the golfer uses, in common 
with the tennis-player, the mower, the pitch- 
forker, and others. It is described in the 
Volume on Training. 

d. After the bowling and (see Hirst), in the 
case of some experts, before it also, the hand 
comes right down in front, near the left knee. 
Let the arm come down from the full upward 
extension to this position, preserving the 
outward stretch as long as possible. The 
shoulder comes with it. 

e. The wrist is important. Hold your 
elbow close to your side, and your palm, 
fingers upwards, in front of your face, as if 
you were going to read your own fortune. 



BOWLING. 63 



Then twist it round smartly as far as it 
will go^ the thumb moving across to your 
left, the little finger away to your right. 
Recover the first position smartly, and re- 
peat many times. Another wrist-exercise 
is the one straight up and down. Start- 
ing from the first position, bend the hand 
briskly towards you, as if to fan yourself ; 
then briskly back again. 
. /. The fingers and thumb, but especially 
the first finger, must acquire full extensions, 
full contractions, and the power of rapid yet 
strong movements in various directions. For 
example, imagine yourself to be spinning a 
peg-top with your first finger, now in one 
direction, now in the other. A second exer- 
cise is to move the tips of all the fingers, 
separately, sharply down towards the palm, 
and sharply back again. 

We need a teacher to tell beginners and 
others which part of their mechanism is 
weak or slow, which part is not doing 
its share of work, which part is working 
wrongly, and so on. 

As a change, the exercises may be applied, 
mutatis mutandis^ to left-hand practice. 



64 BOWLING. 



THE ACTION OF BOWLING 

has already been hinted at in these exercises. 
But, before the ordinary action, may come 
a few words about the lob, the use of which 
Mr. Edward Lyttelton advocates so well. 
The following ideas are mostly his. 

We seldom see lob-bowlers to-day. Per- 
haps many promising boys have been dis- 
couraged by too much hitting of their lobs, 
or too bad fielding (or badly-placed fielding), 
or too little practice (at a stump and onto 
a small piece of paper). Yet lobs may be 
very useful when runs are coming fast ; they 
are like slow twist-services at Tennis or Lawn 
Tennis — one is ashamed not to kill them. As 
a change at any time they may pay, since 
unlike most bowling they break either way 
and hang. 

They must not be long hops ; they must 
not be too slow. The slowest ball should be 
the one outside the off-stump, and twisting 
away. The spin is like that which one gives 
to a billiard ball with one's fingers ; or we 
might imagine the fingers to be doing to the 
ball what Pettitt's racket sometimes does in 
one of his services at Tennis, and Mr. A. W. 
Gore's in his forehand drive at Lawn Tennis. 



BOWLING. 65 



The high full pitch does not need any spin, 
except perhaps some drag in the air if one can 
manage that. The bowHng should generally 
be round the wicket, and have a long run : 
its exact length should be measured and 
a mark made where one is to start. A stop 
must not be made at the crease except in 
order to vary the pace. 

By practising lobs, at games of snob- 
cricket if not elsewhere, one can learn a great 
deal about the twist, the pace, the length, 
the height of the ball for various purposes. 
It forms an easy apprenticeship. If the bowl- 
ing be with an indiarubber ball, and the bat- 
ting be with a stick, then we have excellent 
practice for batting also, since the india- 
rubber ball gives confidence to the shrinking 
right foot and yet receives all the break that 
is given to it and so encourages the bowler. 

The next kind of bowling to learn is the 
low-action round-arm type, such as W. G. 
and many of the old cricketers home from 
India indulge in. It breaks from the leg to 
the off, coming with the arm as well as with 
the wrist and perhaps the fingers also. It 
tempts to leg-hits, and needs good on-side 
fielding of the kind that E. M. Grace used 
to show at leg. 

5 



66 BOWLING. 



Then comes orthodox bowHng with the 
high action^ when the needed muscles are 
well under control. Do not settle on your 
action — unless you are a genius-bowler — 
until you have mastered the mechanism. If 
you do^ you may throughout your career 
fail because some one or more of the im- 
portant elements have not been brought into 
the work — perhaps those shoulder-muscles. 
Stretch your arm up and out and see if it is 
limber : mine used to be shocking^ rigid 
and cramped. But having exercised the 
required parts fully and briskly, then find 
your action after experimenting with several. 
It is not likely that you will be able to bowl 
well with several actions, though in Tennis I 
find that at least three utterly different types 
of service (like those of Saunders or Fairs, 
Latham or Lambert, and Pettitt) can and 
almost must be used in the same set. And 
serving at Tennis is no less elaborate than 
bowling at Cricket. Indeed the two are 
closely parallel. At Racquets also I dis- 
tinguish three or four different actions with- 
out appreciable disadvantage. Theoretic- 
ally I do not see why a moderately good 
bowler (as distinct from the very best) 
should not vary his action. 




XXII. — Bowling, first position ; bowling arm back and down, body 
facing sideways, weight on back leg. 



To face page 67. 



BOWLING. 67 



We may consider first the medium-paced 
bowler with a run of let us say five or six 
yards. This should probably be from a 
fixed spot, and should not be checked at the 
wicket except occasionally for the sake of 
variety of pace. Perhaps the action should 
begin as it will end, for example with the 
hand down near the left knee (see Hirst) : at 
Racquets and Tennis I find I serve better — 
and service here is analogous to bowling at 
Cricket — if I begin with the position of the 
racket with which I want to finish up. 
The principle is Respice finem. Others begin 
with the hand outstretched to the full as it 
will be at the moment of delivery. These are 
two plans that are worth trying. Probably 
the body should be sideways as the bowling 
starts, not only in order to conceal the ball, 
but also in order to add the extra body- 
swing from the hips. And before the arm 
is lifted it is brought far back and down by 
many bowlers, as is shown in Photograph 
XXIL, of Hirst. This may be compared 
with the backward swing of the driver at 
Golf. Perhaps here, as in Golf, there 
should be no interval or stop between the 
swinging back of the hand and the swing- 
ing of it forward again for the delivery, 



68 BOWLING. 



It is generally agreed that the action itself 
shall be high^ somewhat as a server at Lawn 
Tennis has more chance of serving into the 
court and well if he takes the ball high in 
the air : the ball from above — and^ as we 
have said, a man can by daily stretching 
of shoulder and of arm, of leg and foot, add 
an inch or two to his bowling stature— comes 
with more bump, more devilry, more break ; 
is harder to smother, often harder to drive ; 
whereas the low delivery can usually be 
played forward with safety and confidence 
(except the W. G. round -arm round the 
wicket), and is easier to see. . 

With the delivery let the right hand and 
shoulder and the head come well forward 
and downward, the head having previously 
been back and up, to give full sight of the 
pitch and batsman. 

The back leg, from the hip to the ball of 
the foot, is stretched at full tension without 
loss of balance. For there must be imme- 
diate recovery in case of a sharp return or a 
quick run, in which latter case one moves 
behind the wicket and away from the direc- 
tion of the stroke. We shall come back to 
this directly. 

We have already suggested how much can 



BOWLING. 69 



be learnt about length and break, etc., from 
lobs, and about break and drag, etc., from 
the W. G. action round the wicket. Here 
we may add that every bowler should be able 
to bowl round the wicket as well as over it. 
At first the action is likely to be uncomfort- 
able, and the arrangement of fielders on the 
leg-side needs care. But bowling round the 
wicket is almost as good as a complete change ; 
it nearly turns one bowler into two. The 
batsman has to face differently, and pro- 
bably he tends to send out his left leg in 
the wrong direction. I have noticed that, 
against left-hand round-the-wicket bowlers 
like Hirst, the batsman generally sends out 
his left leg far too much towards the left 
and '^ away from the batting business '' (as 
Abel calls this fault). Moral : learn to bowl 
left-hand round the wicket. 

As to the ways of holding the hall^ these 
actions may at first be tried without a ball 
at all ; to grip a ball would probably cramp 
the free swing. Let the free swing first be 
formed. In the same way I found that in 
Tennis services I got the best training with- 
out a racket at all ; the actions then went 
with a pleasant and easy rapidity, until they 
became habitual at that pace. Then I 



70 BOWLING. 

added the cramping racket-handle^ having 
already acquired freedom as my own. Get 
correctness and pace and ease before adding 
anything that might cramp and fetter not 
only the small extremity, the hand, but also 
the large basic and motor muscles. 

Certainly do not grip the ball before the 
action ; that would tire you and might 
stiffen your whole apparatus. As a rule, let 
the tightest grip come just before the very 
moment of delivery. 

There are various grips, of which 
Photographs XXIII.-XXVI., of Hirst's 
hand, will show two. A study of these 
will be more useful than any verbal de- 
scription. Notice, however, that (i) the 
little finger is scarcely used at all ; (2) the 
third finger is not always used ; (3) the first 
finger and the thumb do most of the hold- 
ing and moving ; (4) the ball is not held in 
the palm (except for the sake of a change)* ; 
(5) the seam is the part by which the 
fingers secure their grip and movement 
(again except for the sake of a change). 

The grips can easily become familiar 

7f a There is a right and a wrong way of holding the ball. Good 
bowlers grip the ball as much as possible with their fingers — that is to 
say, they use the fingers and not the palm of the hand to work the 
ball." 




XXIII. — One of Hirst's grips when he bowls : the little finger does 
not touch the ball, and only the knuckle of the third finger does. 



\_Betiieen pages 70 a?id 71. 




XXIV. — Same grip for right hand bowler. 



[Between pages yo a?id ji. 




XXV.— Another of Hirst's grips : all the fingers'touch the ball, the 
little one only just with its side. 



\Between pages jo and ji. 




XXVI.— Same grip for right hand bowler. 



\Betuee7i pages 70 and ji. 



BOWLING. 71 



friends if a ball be held in the hand at odd 
moments. I recommend a Lawn Tennis 
ball to begin with^ until the fingers become 
accustomed to the stretching. 

Both hands should be trained^ just as 
both right-hand and left-hand actions should 
be assimilated. The chance of becoming a 
left-hand bowler (for occasional variety if 
not regularly) is not one to be missed, especi- 
ally in these days of billiard-table wickets. 

DIRECTION. 

The direction should at first be regulated 
chiefly by the position of the body, especially 
the feet, and by the larger muscles ; with- 
out loss of the free swing, however.- Aim 
at a chalk wicket on a wall — an old Lawn 
Tennis or Squash ball will do to begin with — 
or try to get someone to stand at the further 
side of a wicket on a level bit of ground : 
then you two bowl at that wicket alternately. 
Correct your mistakes by exaggerating in the 
opposite direction (a principle invaluable for 
self-correction throughout games and athletics 
and life). If you are bowling too much to 
the off-side, then either keep your body 
turned further to the (batsman's) on-side, 



72 BOWLING. 



or else make your shoulder and arm and 
hand swing less freely and extendedly and 
fully to the off, and more fully out to the 
on. Stretch out and away at the end of 
the swing, and '' follow through.'' But prob- 
ably you will be bowling too much to the 
on ; in that case either alter your feet or 
else make your shoulder and arm and hand 
swing more fully over and across to the off. 
For practice, keep it extended out there. 
Hold it at its extreme Hmit, and then add 
another inch to the reach. Exaggerate, but 
always follow well through. I have never 
seen this last and most important point 
mentioned in any book or writing. 

Of course in actual practice and play one 
must be able to bowl persistently to the off. 
To keep the ball to the off, one must bowl 
at an imaginary wicket there. One needs 
the power of forming a picture in the mind's 
eye. (In Tennis I picture an imaginary net 
two inches above the real one ; that is my 
net, and I ignore the real one.) The reasons 
why orthodox bowlers bowl to the off are 
that balls off the wicket are harder to meet 
in their own line with a straight bat, so long 
as the right foot is kept rigid. The ortho- 
dox bowler has most of his fielders to the 



BOWLING. 73 



off^ for catches owing to the crooked bat. 
If the batsman tries to pull into the desert 
on the on-side, so as to escape the forest 
of fielders on the off-side, he generally runs 
a risk. That is what the bowler wants. 

Besides, ''it is worth remembering, when 
bowling to a quick-footed player, that he 
can run out with more safety to a dead 
straight ball than to one upon the off. It 
is very difficult to keep a ball down when it 
pitches some distance to the side of you.'' 
(The writer adds '' after a big drive, or 
after a couple of big drives, it is bad tactics 
to drop the next ball very short.'') 

Having acquired a free bowling swing 
with full extension of hand and arm and 
shoulder and back muscles and left leg, and 
in an accurate line towards the imaginary 
stump on the off-side, one can then learn to 
vary the line slightly, using for this purpose 
not only the general direction of the feet and 
body and arms, but also the smaller move- 
ments of the wrist and even of the fingers. 

But first get the line safe and sure. Don't 
yet bother about length or pace or break. 
Get direction. Concentrate on that. 



74 BOWLING. 



LENGTH AND HEIGHT. 

Though there is no absolutely good length 
in bowlings yet the following is useful as a 
general rule : — '' For a fast bowler a ball that 
pitches on a spot within from five to seven 
yards from the batsman's wicket is ' good- 
length ' ; for medium pace, the spot lies be- 
tween four and five yards ; for slow^ between 
three and four yards. Notice that the faster 
the bowling the wider is the margin of ' good- 
length.' " 

This general rule must be altered accord- 
ing to the state of the ground (wet, dry, etc.), 
the reach of the batsman, which depends not 
only on his size but also on his use or non- 
use of his feet, his '' class '' (witness the 
rule, keep a good player playing forward, 
a bad player playing back), the previous 
balls which have led up to a certain ball, 
and so on. 

A more comprehensive definition of a good- 
length ball is that it is just beyond the spot 
at which a player can play forward with 
safety, and yet is not a long hop. It is the 
ball which puts the player in two minds ; 
the ball of which he loses sight ; the ball to 



BOWLING. 75 



which he may pay the high compHment 
of the '' half-cock '' stroke. 
, The obvious exceptions are yorkers and 
full-pitches^ which may be excellent balls 
in due season^ and balls to elicit catches. 

The yorker is admitted by most authorities 
to be a useful length to begin with — except 
with a few batsmen like W. G. It '' mas- 
querades " as a full-pitch or half- volley, 
and succeeds because it is despised as such. 

As to the full-pitch, it has several useful 
varieties. There is the ball which will fall 
on the top of the wicket — few batsmen like 
that. Such a ball need not be led up to. 
Let it be fast, and it is an important unit. 
It should be frequently practised, after the 
direction has been mastered. For it is hate- 
ful alike to most sloggers, pokers, and well- 
set batsmen. Then there is the slower full- 
pitch about the height of the knees. But 
the fielders must have been carefully placed. 

How can one learn to get good lengths 
— for there are many ? How can one learn 
to use any length at will ? For, obviously 
if the wicket be '' plumb," then it may be the 
bowler's only hope either to keep a fair 
length and trust in the impatience of human 
nature, or else to try different lengths. 



y6 BOWLING. 



Bowl a ball lazily^ not too high ; it will 
fall short. Bowl another with a full up- 
ward stretch of arm and shoulder ; you then 
have a larger circle. If you let the ball 
go at the right moment^ it will not fall short. 
You can regulate the length, then, by the 
amount of extension that you employ to 
give a greater or smaller curve to your hand 
and the ball, and by the place (within the 
curve) at which you let the ball go from 
your hand. While the hand is rising, the 
sooner you let the ball go the higher that ball 
will fly ; during the downward curve, while 
the hand is falling, the same is true. Grip 
the ball till the end of a falling swing, 
and it may drop quite near to your feet 
(though there is a swing which scarcely 




falls at all). The ball which is shorter should 
generally be bowled a little higher : it was 
thus that Shaw used often to vary his length 
and height. He was able to hit any spot on 



BOWLING. J7 



the ground. It is good practice for length 
and height to put a handkerchief or (later) a 
small piece of paper or a silver coin now on 
this spot and now on that, and to make sure 
of pitching the ball on it with reasonable fre- 
quency. The length may be regulated not 
only by the extension of the arm and hand, 
and the moment at which one releases the 
ball, but also by the rest or action of the 
fingers at this last moment. After one is 
able to hit a small spot at will, one can bowl 
for an imaginary spot, just as one can bowl 
for an imaginary off -wicket. 

\ PACE. 

^ With regard to regulating the pace of the 
ball, perhaps the medium pace is the best 
to acquire first. Anyhow, the increase in 
speed should be gradual. Control of direc- 
tion and of length should precede control of 
pace, though it would be impossible to 
separate the three arts altogether. 

In answer to the question of how the pace 
can be regulated, Mr. Edward Lyttelton 
writes as follows, with special reference 
to lobs : — 

'' There are various ways of doing this. 



78 BOWLING. 



One is to increase the length or speed of your 
run. It is a plain truth that the pace of 
the ball depends on the run, as well as on the 
swing of the arm; as can be verified by ob- 
serving the impetus given to projectiles 
thrown from a railway-carriage window. 
Now the pace of the run up to the crease 
before the ball leaves the hand is of small 
importance ; the difference depends on the 
ball being propelled by a body in fast motion 
or by one hardly moving at all. So you can 
run fast up to the crease, and, just at the 
moment of bowling, stop dead. This will 
give the ball a slow flight, even though your 
arm moves through the air at its ordinary rate 
Or you may take your usual number of strides, 
but each a little longer than usual. This 
gives extra speed to the run, and consequently 
to the ball, but the batsman can hardly per- 
ceive the reason why. His eyes are fixed on 
the bowler's arm. Lastly, there is the trick 
of giving the ball a forward spin with the 
tips of the fingers as it leaves the hand, 
which causes a fast bound from the pitch. 
Combined with a fast run, this spin makes 
a ball come along at a surprising pace, 
without the arm doing anything out of the 
common. Certain it is that very few lob- 



BOWLING. 79 



bowlers study the run up to the wicket 
sufficiently. It ought not to be mechanically 
uniform/' 

Slow bowlings as Mr. A. G. Steel points out, 
may have numerous advantages. It may 
curve in the air. The batsman has to hit 
with more force, with more risk of hitting 
up, more chance of being stumped if he runs 
out, more chance of being caught at the 
wicket ; the slow bowler has greater control 
over the pitch of the ball and its spin ; he 
can recover his balance so quickly and so 
thoroughly that himself he becomes an extra 
man in the field, having plenty of time to 
stop a drive and to get behind and put 
down the wicket when the ball is thrown 
on ; he can last longer. 

But he must pitch the ball further up, 
nearer to the batsman's reach ; he may be 
hit hard and placed anywhere unless he can 
make his ball hang in the air or otherwise 
deceive the batsman, as when the bowler 
sends it from the palm of the hand, not from 
the fingers. 

Slow medium bowling is safer ; and as 
a general rule medium bowling should be 
practised before very slow or very fast 



80 BOWLING. 



be attempted. Perhaps for most ordinary 
bowlers it should form the staple pace, so 
easily can it be made a little faster or a little 
slower. It has this advantage over very slow 
bowling : that it need not be pitched so far 
up. It has this advantage over very fast 
bowling, that it can use the break both ways, 
and can be kept up without much fatigue. 
He who bowls well within his pace runs little 
risk of straining himself, although every now 
and then (like the slow bowler) he can put 
in an occasional fast ball for a change. No 
one should ever bowl so fast as to endanger 
the swing and the knack, as so many boys 
do ; or so fast that he dare not return to the 
slower for the silly fear of being hit. 

Nevertheless — as I once heard a coach 
remark — if you're a fool perhaps you'd better 
bowl fast. 

Pace may be varied, somewhat as length 
may be varied (see above) ; for example, 
by a longer or shorter, quicker or slower 
run ; by a run arrested ; by a quicker or 
slower or arrested movement of some part 
of the mechanism — shoulder, wrist, etc. Spof- 
forth used to hold the ball loosely for slow 
bowling, tightly for fast, as if he were a train 
which gives an impetus to the jumping-off 



BOWLING. 



passenger by holding on to him till the last 
moment. Spofforth's pace as a rule was 
medium rather than very fast. 

BREAK, SPIN, CURL, ETC. 

Anyone who has practised bowling in 
this order — mastering direction, then length, 
then pace, will now wish to add some sort of 
break, as the baseball pitcher wishes to add 
some sort of curl. But here again, as with 
pace, it is a great error to acquire in excess, 
so as to '' endanger the knack.'' I remember 
a boy who got into his school XI. at the end 
of the term simply because he could put on a 
huge break. He had no other merits ; in 
his only match he failed miserably. As a 
high authority says : — 

'' The best ball is not the one that breaks 
most but the one that just breaks enough — 
enough to beat the bat but not the wicket, 
or else enough to beat the centre of the bat 
and just touch its edge.'' 

The general mechanism of the break has 
been best described by Mr. A. G. Steel in 
his now classical chapter of the '' Badminton 
Volume " : — 

6 



BOWLING. 



'' The spin or rotary motion from right 
to left is gained by grasping the ball chiefly 
with the thumb and the first and second 
fingers, the third and fourth fingers being 
placed altogether round the other side of the 
ball. The moment the ball leaves the hand, 
the latter is turned quickly over from right 
to left, and at the same time the first and 
second fingers and the thumb, coming over 
with the hand, impart a powerful twist to 
the ball, which leaves the hand when the 
latter is turned palm downwards. There is 
also, at the time of delivery, an outward and 
upward movement of the elbow, which gives 
the arm the shape of a curve, or almost a 
semicircle. The ball goes on its way spin- 
ning rapidly from right to left, and the 
moment it touches the ground twists very 
sharply toward the off side of the batsman. 
This ball (termed in cricket parlance the 
' leg break '), when well bowled, is perhaps 
one of the most deadly of all balls, 
but it is also the most difficult for a bowler 
to master. It is always a slow ball, as to 
bowl it fast with any accuracy of pitch is an 
impossibility ; at any rate, it may be assumed 
to be so, as no bowler has ever yet appeared 
who could bowl it otherwise than slow. . 



BOWLING. 83 



There are some slow bowlers who have become 
fairly proficient at it, and who have enjoyed 
at various times — especially against batsmen 
they had never met before — a certain amount 
of success ; but it is a style of bowling which 
should be encouraged only to the extent of 
enabling every bowler to use it occasionally/' 

There are at least three different kinds of 
break ; they may be combined in various 
ways. The American baseball pitching is 
developed to a higher point of skill than our 
bowling, and can probably teach us not a 
few lessons. 

(i.) The first break is called the natural 
break ; it is usually from the off to the leg 
(from the leg to the off in the case of the 
left-hand bowler). It comes almost or quite 
of its own accord with the action itself ; 
indeed one can scarcely ever bowl a ball 
without some action-break, any more than 
one can easily hit a billiard ball without 
any break. This kind is often called the 
break '' with the arm.'' 

(2.) The wrist-break cannot be altogether 
separated from this ; some such break also 
is almost natural if not inevitable. 

(3.) The third kind is the finger-break (in- 

6* 



84 BOWLING. 



eluding the thumb-break). It is a spin given 
at the last moment. The fingers move round 
in one direction or in the other^ the first finger 
being as a rule the most important factor. 
This finger needs to be exercised by itself. 
When one looks at a professional bowler's 
hands one finds this finger especially hardened 
or worn or blistered. 

The finger-break (with some wrist-break) 
can be partly given by the grip itself. Hirst's 
two grips in the photographs should be care- 
fully studied and imitated. C. T. B. Turner, 
the great Australian, used to bowl quite a 
different ball according to the special grip. 
Shrewsbury tells of a match in which the 
Notts wickets fell before Turner, because the 
men did not notice the change of grip. 
Shrewsbury noticed it, and did not fall a 
victim. The middle and third fingers were 
sometimes bent not round the ball, but in 
upon the palm of the hand. Again, the spin 
will be absent or lessened if the ball be held, 
not by the seam, as it usually is, but by its 
ordinary skin. For the American baseball 
grip with a view to curl in the air (and also 
affecting twist off the ground) see below. 

The least important finger is the little 
finger ; then comes the third finger. 



BOWLING. 85 



The break can be partly given by this or 
that special movement of fingers and thumb ^ 
or chiefly fingers, during the moment when 
the ball leaves the hand. The effect of the 
varied grip, upon pace, has already been 
described. There are the over-spins for extra 
pace ; the drag-spins ; and the side-spins. 
Every billiard player will realise what these 
terms mean. 

The balls with arm- and wrist- and finger- 
breaks do not come off the ground in the 
same way ; the right-hand bowler's artificial 
(wrist and finger) break from the leg to the 
off will have a different effect from the left- 
hand bowler's '' natural '' break from the 
leg to the off. And results vary also accord- 
ing to the wicket, the wet and slippery (as 
distinct from the drying and caking wicket) 
scarcely imparting any break at all ; there 
is no ^^bite." 

The commonest break (of the right-hand 
bowler) is from the off to the leg. Most 
bowlers and throwers have it. It is often 
said that the reverse-break, from the leg to 
the off, is impossible as a safe and reliable 
ball for a fast bowler, except in so far as it 
comes with the action of bowling. Be this 
as it may — and I see no anatomical reason 



86 BOWLING. 



for the impossibility — the leg-break is easy 
for a medium or slow bowler, and is especi- 
ally effective round the wicket, as many old 
bowlers have frequently proved. Mr. A. G. 
Steel's excellent description of the action must 
be quoted from the '' Badminton Volume '' : 

^' The ball was delivered round the wicket, 
at the very extent of the crease, in order to 
make the angle from the hand to an imaginary 
straight line between the two middle stumps 
as great as possible. The hand was very little 
higher than the hip when the ball was de- 
livered, and instead of the hand and wrist 
being completely turned over at the moment 
of delivery, as in the slow leg-break, the fin- 
gers imparted a right to left spin to the ball. 
The ball, coming from a great distance round 
the wicket and with a considerable amount 
of leg-spin, would be gradually working away 
to the batsman's off-side every inch of its 
journey, both before and after pitching.'' 

vSuch a break would be liable to lead to a 
catch at the wicket or in the slips. It is 
especially useful in school cricket. School 
bowlers — and others — should acquire this 
action. It is not difficult or exhausting. 



BOWLING. 87 



but it needs a careful study of field-placing 
on the on-side. 

(4.) To the break given by arm, wrist, 
and fingers, we may now add the curl, which 
some bowlers have or occasionally have, 
but which few if any bowlers know how to 
teach. The following remarks about the 
American baseball-pitcher's curl in the air, 
produced hy a throw^ are worth studying. 
They are from Mr. Walter Camp's '' Book of 
College Sports.'' I think I am right in say- 
ing that the American curve usually does not 
come till towards the end of the ball's 
flight. 

'' The easiest curve, and the one to be 
acquired first, is the out-curve. The simplest 
method is to take the ball in the hand between 
the extended thumb and the first and second 
fingers, the third and little fingers being 
closed. The ball rests against the (side of 
the) middle part of the third finger, but is 
firmly clasped by the first two and the thumb. 
If the arm be then extended horizontally 
from the shoulder, with the palm of the hand 
up, it will be seen that if the ball were spun 
like a top by the two fingers and thumb it 
would turn in the way indicated by the arrow 
in the diagram. This is the way it must 



88 BOWLING. 



twist to accomplish the out-curve. The 
simpler way to impart this twist is not the 
spinning motion, but rather a snap as the ball 
is leaving the fingers, performed almost 
entirely without the aid of the thumb. The 
sensation is that of throwing the ball hard, 
but dragging it back with the ends and sides 
of the fingers just as it leaves the hand.'' 
For further instructions the reader should 
consult this excellent work, published by the 
Century Company of New York. 
The writer goes on to remark : — 

*' The most logical explanation of the curvature of a ball 
depends upon the supposition of the compression of the air 
just in front of the ball and a corresponding rarefaction 
immediately behind it, so that the ball by its friction is 
deflected from its true course." 

It is interesting to notice that, in contrast 
with our '' batting versus bowling '' problem, 
'' in spite of all restrictions, such is the grow- 
ing skill of pitchers that the problem is con- 
stantly under discussion how to legislate in 
favour of the batsmen.'' 

(5.) Additional curl or break may be added 
by the wind, slope of the ground, and so on. 

In all cases, the break must be given 
especially at the last moment, and must not 



BOWLING. 89 



be expended in the previous action, unless 
the object be to deceive the batsman. Ob- 
viously one should not always put on the same 
amount of break ; one should appear to do 
so. A straight ball following many breaks 
from the off is apt to be very effective. 

Now as to the learning of the break, two 
or three notions seem to me sheer common 
sense. 

(i.) The muscles of the various mechanisms, 
and especially of the wrist and fingers, must 
be exercised in various ways : by full ex- 
tensions in different directions, by full con- 
tractions, by partial movements in different 
directions, and so on. A certain amount of 
strength is needed, but let litheness not be 
sacrificed. 

(2.) Underhand bowling of breaks in either 
direction not only exercises these mechanisms, 
and makes them habitual and easy, but it also 
shows effects very clearly. Stump-cricket 
with an indiarubber ball and underhand 
bowling is good training for the bowler's 
break as well as for the batsman's straight 
bat. 

(3.) Slow bowling is fine for the same 
reasons. During it the ball is held longer 
in the fingers; after it the ball is ''held'' 



90 BOWLING. 



longer by the ground. Hence it also shows 
its effects clearly and encourages the be- 
ginner. Moreover^ the slow breaking ball 
is useful as a change for the medium-paced 
bowler. Some of the break thus acquired 
as an easy habit may be transferred to medium 
or fast bowling. 

Concealment is of the utmost importance. 
The extra Commandment^ '' Thou shalt not 
be found out/' is of great moment when once 
the bowler has control of the ball's flight 
and spin. 

To hide direction is hard, unless the curl 
be used. To hide length and pace, as 
Shaw, Spofforth, Lohmann and others used 
to, is easier : one or two helps have been 
offered above. We may notice that Shaw 
used to alter the height of his hand : this 
had several important results ; for example, 
the low delivery made the ball bump less 
and '' skim '' more. Shaw again would bowl 
a very effectively concealed variety, a ball 
rather shorter, rather slower, rather higher. 
A great change is not usually so effective 
as a small one, except when a very slow or 
medium bowler occasionally bowls a very 
fast ball. In masking these changes, as 
well as the break, the bowler needs what 







O 



o 
pq 

I 



> 
X 



BOWLING. 91 



Mr. A. G. Steel alludes to as the wiliness 
of the serpent with the apparent harmless- 
ness of the dove. He needs complete mastery 
of this or that part of the mechanism by 
itself, so that he may or may not turn his 
wrist or fingers at the last moment either com- 
pletely or partially, but anyhow '' with in- 
tent to deceive.'' Need a skilful bowler 
be a skilful liar ? 

The art of taking halls at the wicket^ like 
the art of fielding balls, demands a rapid 
recovery of balance. After his effort the 
bowler must either field the ball or else get 
ready with his wicket between himself and 
the fielder. As the photograph (XXVII.) of 
Hirst shows, he should not stand too near the 
wicket, for it is easier to move forward than 
to move back. He must also be prepared 
for a bad throw, either too high or else too 
low — perhaps a half-volley or what would 
be to a batsman a '' good length '' ball. 

The '' Badminton Volume '' gives this use- 
ful advice : — ''A golden rule for every bowler 
to observe is — after the batsman has played 
the ball, get back to the wicket as quickly 
as possible. Neglect of this rule loses many 
a ' run-out.' If a bowler does not get back 
to his wicket, there is no one to take the ball 



92 BOWLING. 



and knock the bails off should the batsman 
run and the ball be returned to the bowler's 
end. When the ball is thrown up, the 
bowler should not take it till it has just passed 
the wicket ; he should then seize and sweep 
the ball into the stumps in one and the same 
action.'' 

For the purpose of taking the ball and 
putting down the wicket rapidly — in fact 
almost by a single movement — he cannot do 
better than practise wicket-keeping now and 
then. This should give him hints for bowling 
also. It should help him to keep his real eye 
on the ball and his imaginary eye, his mind's 
eye, on imaginary wickets. He must sense 
by imagination, and by '' feel," precisely 
where the wickets are, just as at Tennis I 
have to sense where the '' Grille "or '' De- 
dans " is, even while my real outward eye is 
on the ball. 

The bowler, like the wicket-keeper, should 
be an adviser (but with judgment and tact) 
to the captain, especially with regard to the 
throwing in and backing up by this or that 
fielder, and the correct placing of all the 
fielders, which must depend on circumstances 
and individual batsmen. This has brought 
us to more general remarks on bowling. 



BOWLING. 93 



GENERAL HINTS. 

The first and foremost piece of advice 
to the would-be bowler, that is to say to 
every cricketer, is to read what the great 
authorities, Messrs. A. G. Steel, Ranjitsinhji, 
Grace, the Lytteltons, and others say about 
the importance of bowling, and of learning 
to bowl well or better, not only for the sake 
of the game's future and of the team's success, 
but also for the sake of personal enjoyment. 
Let the reader digest what Mr. Edward 
Lyttelton says about practice in the bed- 
room, and what Mr. C. B. Fry (in the 
'' Strand '' for July, 1902) says about the 
helps which he used to his grand athletic 
success — for instance, kicking a small ball 
in a courtyard, and jumping over an arm- 
chair. Let every cricketer read how the 
Americans train for baseball. Then let him 
not despise the mastering of the mechanism 
in his bedroom or elsewhere, if possible before 
a large looking-glass. There should be one 
or two in every pavilion. 

The following advice is not new, but it 
will all bear repetition. No amount of 
honest care spent in suggestions about bowl- 



94 BOWLING. 



ing can be considered as wasted. The future 
of enjoyable cricket lies largely with im- 
provement in bowling. 

Be able to bowl round as well as over the 
wicket, for such a change of starting-point 
is almost as good as a change of action. In 
view of what certain Americans have achieved 
in Philadelphia and elsewhere by being taught 
the use of the left side (for drawing, modelling, 
etc.) in early childhood, I do not hesitate to 
say, learn to bowl fairly well with the left 
hand as well as with the right. The control 
of the left side would add power to batting 
and fielding even if it led to little success in 
actual bowling. 

When you have got the direction and can 
bowl persistently to the off, practise the 
straight and fast yorker as well as the good 
length ball to the off. In fact, practise in- 
tentional variety ; do not rely on the variety 
which is incidental to careless and ''undis- 
ciplined '' bowling. 

You must have firm feet — the left foot 
must have nails that bite the ground well, 
especially near the boot's toe ; you must have 
strong hands — they may be hardened by salt, 
etc., or, in case of sore places, may be pro- 
tected by adhesive plaister round the finger 



BOWLING. 95 



or hand (this prevents painful friction). 
Sprains may be treated by water or massage 
or radiant hght and heat. 

Having attended to such things, study 
pitches — their soft or hard spots, the trees, 
etc., behind the bowler's arm, the direction 
of the sun, of the wind — in fact, all details 
that a careful general must notice. Spofforth 
used to make a point of finding out '' the pace 
of the wicket, even if his first effort cost 
him dear." One or two balls just off the 
pitch, before play begins, may save such runs. 
Don't bowl these or the early ones too fast ; 
the Public School Racquet representatives 
at Queen's slash about from the very moment 
that they enter the court. This is silly. 
Start gently ; increase the severity by 
degrees. 

At the beginning of an innings or of a new 
batsman's innings pitch the ball well up. 
A yorker is among the most effective attacks 
(except to W. G. and a few others) ; even a 
half-volley is often useful, or a full-pitch 
on the body, but not a long hop. 

Correct your mistakes of direction, length, 
and so on, by exaggerating a little in the 
opposite direction. 

To a slogger a straight ball — unless it be 



96 BOWLING. 



a yorker — is not the best^ as a rule^ especially 
if he runs out ; a ball to the off may be most 
useful, for a slogger generally runs out 
straight down the pitch rather than towards 
the side (in which case he would turn an off- 
ball into a straight ball). With W. G.^s 
action round the wicket, a ball on the leg- 
side may be just the thing. A break to the 
off is generally needed, so as to tempt a 
catch to cover or third man. 

Do not mind having your '' head-balls '' 
hit. Mr. A. G. Steel's words must be borne 
in mind constantly, at least for ordinary 
occasions when the main object is not to keep 
the runs down. He says : — '' When a bowler 
is put on to bowl by his captain, it is his duty 
to do everything in his power to dislodge the 
batsman. It is really quite a secondary 
consideration for him whether many or few 
runs are being made off his bowling.'' As a 
sequel to this, he urges that '' a slow bowler 
should try every wile that can possibly be 
attempted. By adopting slow bowling he 
has undertaken to use ' the wisdom of the 
serpent ' in the guise of the ' harmlessness 
of the dove,' and has sacrificed pace to cun- 
ning and thought." 

If the bowler be very brave, he will feed 



BOWLING. 97 



the strong stroke of the batsman. I often 
find this plan effective in Racquets and Tennis. 
The opponent tries '' just one too many/' 
or tries to excel beyond his ability. But 
of course it would be a greater error to for- 
get the fieldmen's poor hands and to bowl 
the batsman into practice and sure sight, 
than it would be to bowl merely for maidens, 
unless the other bowler is playing ninepins 
with the stumps, or unless defensive bowling 
is required at the close finish to a match, 
or in order to excite a batsman to im- 
patience. 

Most experiments should have been already 
made at the nets or in practice-games. It 
is there that you should learn how to lead up 
to a killing ball, as the Lawn Tennis or Chess 
player does, rather than always to spring 
the very best on the batsman at once. To 
plan each ball deliberately beforehand, to 
let each have a definite purpose, involves not 
only these previous trials, but also a good 
memory, an absence of hurry, a refusal to 
despair. 

Despair is almost natural when chances 
have been missed. I remember a season of 
College Cricket during which I got about 
130 wickets, and had over 60 chances missed. 

7 



98 BOWLING. 



I had to console myself by imagining each 
chance — mostly to the sleepy slips — to be 
a wicket. That may console one slightly. 

Another consolation is to remember that 
each fresh batsman is a fresh beginning to 
the game. He comes in unready^ a hope 
to the bowler. 

Observation and memory have been in- 
valuable helps to me at my own games. I 
translate my experiences into Cricket lan- 
guage. From behind the wicket and else- 
where^ observe the commonest hits off the 
commonest balls with this or that break, 
especially when the batsman shapes thus or 
thus. Observe how the poking potterer is 
dismissed by the high full-pitch or by the 
ball to entice a catch in the slips — for him 
you will note in your mind, '' Two short slips 
and perhaps two square legs." Watch the 
fingers of the nervous batsman grip the bat 
tight ; watch the feet and body shuffle in 
anxiety ; watch the feeble strokes that 
result ; watch the balls that worry him most 
before he gets confidence. 

The weak point of a batsman should be the 
point of most frequent attack, and that weak 
point may differ on different days, and accord- 
ing to the individual batsman's special frame 



BOWLING. 99 



of mind. '' Ah/' I have often thought when I 
faced an old opponent, '' if only I could tell 
your strongest and weakest strokes to-day 
and now ! Will you be slow on your legs 
now ? Will you neglect that right foot, 
oh, mine enemy ? " 

Observe whether the batsman himself is 
intelligent and observant, or — what generally 
amounts to the same thing — practised to the 
verge of automatism. Do not assume that 
every batsman will notice everything that 
you are doing. Excessive wiliness is often 
wasted. 

Observe how a player with a certain 
'' stance '' will tend to show a certain fault — 
as to draw away his right foot. Classify 
players in groups. Then when the hitherto 
new and '' unseen " batsman arrives, you 
may start at an advantage ; you may save 
yourself unnecessary experimentation. 

Make notes of these and other '' tips." 
Cricket is as well worth notes as Tennis and 
Racquets, and my notes for these games have 
proved of yeoman service in matches. '' How 
they would give my whole show away!'' 
was the remark of an American player. 
'' Yes," I replied, '' if anyone had the patience 

to use them, he might very soon beat me." 

7* 



lOO BOWLING. 



Work out theories ; remember the keenness 
of Spofforth^ who lay awake at nights plotting 
and planning. Such imaginations are good 
for the intellect and (in an obvious way) 
'' a very present help in time of trouble.'' 
Read^ observe, ask pros., veterans, wicket- 
keepers. Make notes, recollect, use. Judge 
by results. 

For instance, work out where you will 
want this and that fielder placed. Most 
books give excellent diagrams : Ranjit- 
sinhji's are the fullest. But do not be tied 
down by any such diagram. Be ready to 
change the positions — by a word or a move- 
ment of the hand — according to individual 
grounds, days, batsmen, and so on. 

One need not confine one's practice to the 
nets and games. These are indispensable 
in their place, but not self-sufhcient. Practice 
with a smaller and softer ball is not to be 
despised ; it will give one freer movements, 
more obvious effects in break, and thus more 
knowledge and confidence. And one should 
do the special exercises — and others devised 
by wiser heads than mine — before one dares 
to despair. One must first master the 
mechanisms, try several actions, practise 
with a friend (putting a stump between oneself 



BOWLING. lOI 



and him^ and bowling at it alternately with 
him, a third enthusiast acting as wicket- 
keeper), practise needless variety (with wrist 
or fingers stiff or loose, and so on). One can 
give oneself every chance, every benefit of 
the doubt. It was years before I learnt to 
serve at Racquets or Tennis. I am not 
nearly at my best yet. 

When one is at the nets, one must be inde- 
pendent. One must imagine oneself bowl- 
ing in actual overs. One must notice where 
each ball, sent with a special purpose, is 
generally hit. In my practice of Cricket 
I never did this ; in my practice of my own 
games I do it with marked results. 

Boys should certainly practise, even if 
they do not regularly play, with a smaller 
ball, a smaller bat, a shorter pitch. I wish 
that the M.C.C. Committee would study 
the expressed opinions of Messrs. A. G. Steel, 
Ranjitsinhji, Grace and others — elicit the 
hitherto unexpressed opinions of other ex- 
perts ; discuss the matter, and then, if it 
seemed good, issue an authoritative advice 
to schoolmasters and others, urging the use 
of adapted ball, bat, and pitch. Though any 
one single measure would not suit all, yet 
it would be convenient, and would be a step 



I02 BOWLING. 



in the right direction. Let there be Ught and 
small bats and balls. 

It would be well also if old players would 
tell the young player to practise lobs, to try 
the W. G. action round the wicket, to master 
the mechanisms of ordinary overhand bowl- 
ing, to avoid excessive pace, and break ; 
to practise at the nets as if he were bowl- 
ing in an actual game, only with more 
experimentation — to bowl an over, then have 
a rest ; to make notes ; to work out theories ; 
to be keen. A few words from a famous 
expert come with a thousand times more 
force than any amount of advice from the 
present writer, even though the latter be 
stating only most obvious and incontrovert- 
ible truths. For the word of a successful 
man availeth much. 



I03 



CHAPTER III. 

FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

The future of Cricket lies less perhaps with 
reform of the game itself than with more 
adequate preparation for play^ so that each 
part of each department of it may be better 
done— done with more skill, more enjoy- 
ment, more profit. And of all departments 
fielding needs most care and favour. It 
must become so good and so interesting 
as to be a pride and a pleasure, instead of 
— as it now is — a dulness and a drudgery. 

The first requisite will be to realise that 
fielding is complex. Whereas Cricket is often 
called a trinity of games, of which one mem- 
ber is fielding, fielding itself, though regarded 
as a single occupation, involves a multitude 
of arts and too often a multitude of sins. 
Quite apart from the different qualities de- 
manded for different places in the field, all 



I04 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 



fielders alike should possess certain charac- 
teristics in common. In this chapter we 
shall speak of fielding in general, referring 
the reader to the books by Ranjitsinhji and 
others for special and exceptional informa- 
tion about special places. Thus short slip 
may have to be ready not to move his feet 
but merely to shift his weight, whereas cover 
must be ready to do both. 

A few minutes' study of the photographs 
of Hirst and Shrewsbury, and of an actual 
or imaginary game, will show that as a rule 
many virtues are needful. Ranjitsinhji gives 
the following nine Commandments : — 

'' There are certain rules which apply to 
all fieldsmen, viz. : — 

1 . Keep the legs together when the ball is 
hit straight to you and while you are picking 
it up. 

2. Always back up the man who is re- 
ceiving the ball at the wicket, when it is 
thrown in, but not too close. 

3. Always try for a catch, however im- 
possible it may seem. 

4. Always be on the look-out and ready 
to start. 

5. Run at top speed, but not rashly, the 
moment the ball is hit. 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. IO5 

6. Use both hands whenever possible. 

7. Do not get nervous if you make a mis- 
take. 

8. Obey your captain cheerfully and 
promptly. 

9. Never be slack about taking up the 
exact position assigned to you ; never move 
about in an aimless^ fidgetty manner.'' 

These Commandments apply to the whole 
side^ since^ as has been well said^ ''In a 
true sense ^ the strength of a fielding side 
must be measured by its weakest member^ 
as that of a chain is measured by its weakest 
link. Then, again, when there is a really 
bad fielder on a side, more balls seem to go 
to him than to any one else. Put him where 
you will, he seems to attract the ball.'' 

Let the reader fancy himself fielding at 
cover. What must be his habits ? 

He must be ready to back up the wicket- 
keeper. 

He must be ready to start at once in any 
direction either with his legs or with his 
arm or with both. 

He must time the ball; he must also 
anticipate, his foreknowledge being based 
on instinct, observation, and memory. 

He may have to run and to run hard. 



I06 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

He may have to move his hands^ or one 
of them^ rapidly and accurately towards the 
ball's line of flight ; this may involve a 
bending of trunk^ and an extension of limbs 
for stooping and stretching. 

He must preserve or immediately recover 
balance. 

He must be able to draw back his hands, 
or one of them, the instant that the ball has 
touched them or it. This yielding movement 
must be timed to a nicety. 

He must grasp the ball either as a catch 
or as a ball to be thrown in. 

In the latter case he must decide to which 
end, at what pace, etc., he will throw it in. 

He must then throw it in accurately. This 
last rule of fielding alone postulates a special 
and difficult art. 

Having found out what is to be practised, 
the would-be fielder must realise that the 
practice as well as the fielding itself are 
abundantly worth while. '' That side would 
have been out for a third of the score if one 
or two of us in our palmy days had been 
in the field,'' remarked a veteran spectator 
at a big match. This was quite true — 
catches were missed, and they were costly 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. I07 

enough. Ranjitsinhji says^ ''As to the im- 
portance of good fielding, it is easy to prove 
it. Each catch that is missed simply adds 
another batsman to the opposite side. If five 
catches are dropped, the side that drops them 
has to all intents and purposes fifteen men 
to dispose of instead of ten.'' Besides the 
chances, there were the balls not anticipated, 
not stopped, not thrown in smartly, not 
thrown in accurately. The so-called '' safe '' 
fielders often lost a run by their safe wait- 
ing. '' Patient waiting no loss '' is a bad 
rule. Mr. Edward Lyttelton laments this in- 
feriority. What a contrast to Mr. V. K. 
Royle, whose habit was to stand like a man 
ready to sprint in any direction, even before 
the ball had been hit. Such a man either 
ran the batsman out or else saved run after 
run by sheer terrorism ; he did not slack off 
merely because he thought the ball might 
possibly not come near him. He seemed to be 
convinced that it certainly would come not 
necessarily to him but for him to field. He 
was the ideal. And W. G. tells us of an- 
other : '' My brother Fred and Jupp used to 
go after everything and try for every catch, 
as if the match depended on their individual 
efforts ; and the extraordinary results which 



I08 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

followed surprised others as well as them- 
selves. There is no finer sight in the cricket 
field than a brilliant fieldsman doing his 
utmost ; and every feat that he performs 
meets with quick and hearty recognition by 
the spectators.'' Such examples and words 
make one feel that keenness and skill and 
success are worth while. The alertness and 
rapidity with accuracy are qualities for char- 
acter and for life as well as for cricket. 

After the complexity of fielding and its 
importance have been realised^ the next 
thing is to improve fielding. Why has it 
not been cultivated as a piece of land that 
may become fruitful ? Partly perhaps be- 
cause the fielder is not mentioned on the 
scoring-sheet (except for the catches^ which 
go chiefly to the bowler's credit) ; partly 
because the long-sided practice-nets render 
most fielding unnecessary ; partly because 
fielders are not keen^ and that means be- 
cause they do not field scientifically. Field- 
ing is regarded as a subsidiary and slavish 
drudgery, not as an important and fine art. 
And now for a few possible remedies of a 
general character, to be supplemented by 
others and by special training for special 
places in the field. 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. IO9 

Every fielder should practise all-round 
fielding, while he makes one particular place 
(or two) his speciality : the choice of this 
place should depend on the mental as well 
as the physical qualities — on smart readiness, 
power of extension, and so forth. 

He should study the commonest hits to 
his place, learning the curves and breaks 
which the ball will most frequently show. 

He must be alert. Let me here quote Mr. 
Edward Lyttelton's excellent remarks : — 
'' Unless strong measures are taken, the 
school-fieldsmen will stand on their heels, 
while the ball is being hit ; and this is gener- 
ally the cause of that heart-sickening want 
of life — that imperturbable middle-aged de- 
corum which is so often to be noticed among 
boy-cricketers of seventeen, eighteen, nine- 
teen years of age, and is enough, when seen, 
to make old cricketers weep. But not to 
stand on the heels requires effort and stimu- 
lus ; and it is astonishing how often you 
may make the effort and reap no reward ; 
the ball doesn't come. But when it does, 
what a change ! The leap, the determina- 
tion that the batsman shall not score, the 
racing after the ball, are all part of the same 
dash which must begin from the toes, not 



no FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 



from the heel. Now some of these early 
principles can be taught to a boy by taking 
him singly^ and throwing or hitting the ball, 
not too hard, either at him or to one side 
just within his utmost reach ; and, by con- 
stant encouragement and exhortation, the 
trainer may induce him again and again to 
do violence to his propriety, in the first 
place, and then to stretch his sinews and 
curve his backbone till he finds himself 
capable of a brilliancy which he never before 
suspected. The exercise is terrific, and ten 
minutes per diem are amply sufficient. It 
is best to take only one at a time. No one 
can guess the improvement that is sure to 
ensue if this regime is faithfully observed 
. . . A deep field is standing with his 
whole body ready to jump in any direction 
that may be required. There comes a catch, 
but it is very doubtful if he can get to it ; 
only because he was ready to start he does 
so, and perhaps the best bat on the side 
walks home ; or, owing to the same fact, 
he again and again saves a ball from going 
to the boundary. Now, if this is the case 
with a deep field, how much more with cover- 
point and other ' save one ' fields ! '' 

He must notice and practice several wait- 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. Ill 



ing-positions^ taking good fielders as his 
models. Whichever he decides to use^ he 
must not stand on his heels. Fielders refuse 
to learn the art of readiness ; so does our 
nation in its daily life. It is the prompt 
readiness not to go in one direction only^ 
but to go in any direction^ perhaps back- 
wards, without loss of poise and self-control 
— for the hands must be prepared to be ex- 
tended anywhere, and at the end of the 
extension to grasp securely. So far from 
such an alertness being a common sight, an 
inalienable possession of most players, it is 
as rare as open-mindedness. There is only 
one thing rarer in fielding, and this is the 
custom of anticipating strokes, though 
heaven knows that similar strokes have been 
repeated often enough to be observed and 
remembered! But ^^ education'' does not en- 
courage observation. 

In addition to the readiness to get at the 
ball, there must be the readiness to back up. 

The fielder must follow each ball. If he 
finds this dull, let him pretend that he is 
the fielder to whom the ball has been sent ; 
let him field it in his imagination. 

In a bedroom or elsewhere he may prac- 
tice stoopings and extensions (as in Photo- 



112 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 



graph XXVIII. of Hirst), a yielding of the 
hands and a rapidly closed grip at the end 
of the extensions. All the common atti- 
tudes and movements for stopping and re- 
ceiving balls may be acquired outside the 
field. The muscles must be familiarised 
with their future work ; for, as Mr. Lyttelton 
says, ''If every field picked up and threw in 
as quickly as his knee joints and the state of 
his arm allowed him, a very considerable 
percentage of the runs usually scored would 
be saved." 

Catching may be learnt with a soft ball 
against a wall or in games of catch. The 
hands should be held not too far apart nor 
too far from the body. Both hands should 
be used, if possible. The difficulty is to 
judge the flight, to time the instant to draw 
back just enough — for '' he must learn to 
let the ball come into his hands as into an 
Aunt vSally's mouth. It is entirely wrong to 
grab or snap at it " — and then to hold tight. 
There are brought into play the senses of 
sight, of hearing — different sounds accom- 
pany different hits, and in Racquets I get 
much help from what my ear tells me — 
and of touch, as well as of other faculties. 

As practice for stopping balls, wicket- 




T3 



O 
CI. 

o 



X5 



i 



> 

X 



e5 



FIELDING AND THRO WING-IN. II3 

keeping is good except for the feet. It 
teaches one to bend quickty, to extend 
quickly ; it cultivates pluck and patience 
and observation, since the wicket-keeper 
must stand firm and wait and watch each 
ball if he hopes not to be hurt. 

Every cricketer — I would go so far as to 
say every ordinary human being — should 
learn and practise thro wing-in. Dr. Grace 
says that the player '' should practise pick- 
ing-up and thro wing-in underhand.'' At first 
this should be acquired as a separate accom- 
plishment, till it can be incorporated and 
nearly ingrafted into the action of fielding, 
so that the whole process may become, as 
it were, a single movement started half- 
unconsciously by the sight of a batsman 
preparing to strike. The right action for 
throwing will be dealt with directly. 

Interesting matches will do much to im- 
prove the keenness about fielding and there- 
fore the care given to it. It is mainly because 
the American School and University baseball 
matches are so interesting, so absorbing, that 
good fielding is so sedulously sought after. 
We might arouse and sustain interest by 
variety ; personally I should like to see 
handicap-matches occasionaly introduced. A 



114 P^IELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

few kinds are suggested in another chapter. 
Tip-and-run is excellent training for the bats- 
man as well for the fielders and wicket- 
keeper. 

Subsidiary games and exercises are also 
essential. In these, as in matches, there 
should either be prizes or — as Mr. Edward 
Lyttelton advises — '' the players should be 
encouraged to compete for colours to wear, 
which need consist of nothing further than 
a cap of well-marked hue. There is no 
reason to underrate the power of this entice- 
ment. Human beings have ever been ad- 
dicted to ornament, and some have thought 
that great wars have been fought for very 
little else than the difference between one 
colour and another. It is quite certain that 
the authorization of caps for proficiency in 
cricket does wonders ; and it is a stimulus 
quite innocent enough to be worth trying.'' 
The same writer goes on to suggest that '' it 
ought to be possible to devise a means of 
a social practice of fielding, which without 
involving the waste of time of ordinary match 
fielding, would ensure to each individual 
something to do, and some stimulus to do 
it." 

We might with advantage study American 










'a « 
,. < 

O o 

O 
CJ 






I— I 
X 
X 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 11 ^ 

methods of practice, not with a view to 
slavish copying, but with a view to adapted 
borrowing. Mr. Walter Camp thus describes 
the method and apparatus for improving 
the accuracy of height and of direction ; after 
remarking that '' every one has what may 
be called a natural way of throwing the ball, 
but this so-called natural ' way ' usually 
means a perverted method acquired through 
carelessness, or attempts to throw too hard 
before the arm is sufficiently accustomed to 
the work," he points out such faults as to 
return the ball before the recovery of balance. 
He then goes on thus : '' To get an idea of 
the first steps towards the acquisition of 
this method, let the player take the ball in 
his hand, and, bringing it back level with 
his ear, planting both feet firmly, attempt 
to throw the ball without using the legs or 
body. At first the throw is awkward and 
feeble, but constant practice speedily results 
in moderate speed and peculiar accuracy. 
After steady practice at this until quite a 
pace is acquired, the man may be allowed 
to use his legs and body to increase the speed, 
still, however, sticking to the straight-for- 
ward motion of the hand, wrist, and the 
arm. . . . There is no delay caused by draw- 
s'^- 



Il6 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

ing back the arm past the head or by turn- 
ing the body around^ which loses so much 
valuable time. Its accuracy is due to the 
fact that it is easier to aim at an object with 
a hand in front of the eyes than when it is 
out (to the side) beyond the shoulder. One 
can easily ascertain this by comparing the 
ease of pointing the index finger at any 
object when the hand is in front of the face, 
with the difficulty of doing so when the arm 
is extended out sideways from the body. 
Still further, in the almost round-arm throw- 
ing, which many players use, the hand de- 
scribes an arc, and the ball must be let 
go at the proper point to go true. If let go 
at any other point in the swing, the throw 
is certain to be wild. . . . The majority of 
the best throwers in the country use prin- 
cipally the fore-finger and middle finger in 
giving direction to the ball.'' Mr. Camp 
then describes the system of hitting to a 
number of fielders — this is to be found 
in some English Schools, but in America 
the practisers take it in turn to hit to the 
others, '' the batter being able to knock 
high flies, line hits, long flies, and occasionally 
a sharp hot grounder ; a good man, while 
avoiding running the men to death, will 




XXX.— Waiting for a catch : elbows ready to draw back slightly the 
moment the ball touches the hands. 



\Between pages ii6 and 117. 




XXXI.— A one-handed catch : body bent slightly back from the hips. 



[Between pages \\6 andwj. 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. II 7 

occasionally give each man an opportunity 
to make a brilliant catch. Nothing encour- 
ages and improves the candidates so much 
as keeping their ambition thoroughly aroused 
during the entire time of practice/' '' Exer- 
cise that toughens the hands — such as swing- 
ing on the flying-rings, or rope-climbing — is 
found to be useful." '' The work with the 
boxing gloves is designed to improve the 
man's general muscular development, make 
him quick and firm upon his feet, and rapid 
in judgment and action." '' On the run- 
ning-track, the men take a few turns to 
limber up, and then practise quick starting, 
and short, sharp spurts at full speed, rather 
than the more leisurely, long-continued run 
of the men who are training for boating 
honours." '' The sliding-spool is an admir- 
able device for cultivating the muscles used 
in throwing. (The spool is a piece of wood, 
like a large reel of cotton, moving upon a 
rope tied, e.g., to a beam in a room, and 
to some other object. It can be set at any 
angle.) The point at which the spool would 
come in contact with the ceiling should be 
well padded with some rather inelastic sub- 
stance, in order that the spool may not re- 
bound too severely. By throwing the spool 



Il8 FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. 

along the rope a number of times daily, a 
man can acquire a powerful throw/' 

From the above quotations it will be 
obvious that we have many lessons to learn 
and adapt for ourselves from America, even 
while we need not agree with all that is main- 
tained here. Thus the action of the throw 
may be better for certain individuals, cer- 
tain places in the field, certain balls to be 
fielded, when the hand is kept at about the 
level of the shoulder (see the photograph of 
Hirst), or below that level. Murdoch, for 
instance, says, '' When throwing, get into the 
way of never allowing your arm to get 
above the level of your shoulder : it must 
be a quick, wrist};^ throw, and, with a little 
practice, you will get very accurate.'' 

The captain should set a good example ; 
he should also look out for keen fielders or 
keen practisers of fielding and try to turn 
these into respectable batsmen or bowlers, 
instead of starting with the latter and neg- 
lecting their fielding qualifications. 

Among the best exercises for fielding 
is Fives. It trains the left hand and side, 
as well as the stooping-capacity. Boxing is 
another help, especially quick-foot boxing 
(which my friend Mr. F. V. Hornby has 







XXXII. — Fielding a ground ball : no interval left for the ball to get 
through ; body well down to the work. 



\Behveen pages ii8 and 119. 




XXXIII. — A waiting position at point, where there is less foot-work 
than at most places. It is easier to rise quickly than to stoop quickly. 



{Between pages ii8 and 119. 




XXXIV.— Preparing to throw in with the high action. 



\Betw2en pages ii8 and 119. 



FIELDING AND THROWING-IN. II9 

described as '' buzzing around '') rather than 
the stiff-legged methodical slow kind. Box- 
ing is fine for the ''eye'' — that is, for the 
co-operation of eye, foot, body, arm, etc. 
Diving is good for the wind ; swimming for 
this and other purposes. 



I20 



CHAPTER IV. 

NOTES ON WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, 
IMPLEMENTS. 

These subjects have been so thoughtfully 
dealt with in most of the well-known books 
on Cricket, that it will be unnecessary here 
to do more than sum up what seem to be 
the most useful points, and to add a few 
hints. 

NOTES ON WICKET-KEEPING. 

'' The prevailing neglect of wicket-keeping 
is a gross folly. First as regards those who 
are to be regular wicket-keepers, why do 
they never practise ? Their art is every 
whit as diihcult as batting, and it is as- 
tonishing how its supreme importance to 
the efficiency of an eleven is overlooked. 
There is probably no hope of getting a really 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 121 

good man out on a good wicket, which can 
be compared to the chance of his sending a 
catch to the wicket-keeper before his eye is 
in. Sometimes these chances are missed, 
and no one notices anything. . . . Every 
member of any team would gain if he were 
taught how to keep wicket in early youth. 
In the first place it certainly helps the eye 
in batting. The problem of judging pace, 
pitch, and break is exactly the same in both 
cases. Next, it teaches sureness of hand in 
fielding. A field who has learnt wicket- 
keeping must find any catch, especially if it 
does not involve running, mere child's play 
compared with a chance behind the sticks. 
It is impossible that any such continuous 
exercise of hand and eye of the most subtle 
description could be anything but valuable 
to the general quickness and sureness both of 
fielding and batting. Lastly, even if all the 
eleven do not learn to keep wicket, there 
ought always to be one or more ready to 
take the place of the regular man, in case 
of injury or absence." — Edward Lyttelton. 

In the plea for all-roundness we have 
already urged that every player should be 
able to keep wicket a little, or at any rate 



122 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

should practise with the ball and stump 
(see above). Wicket-keeping is useful not only 
for its own sake and for the sake of the place 
which it may bring in the team^ but also as 
excellent discipline for short slip. The bowler 
himself must be able to take the ball 
when it is thrown in by the fielders — and 
it is generally thrown in remarkably badly — 
and to knock off the bails neatly and surely. 
The captain, when he is not a bowler, sees 
more of the game — the strength or weakness 
of the bowling and so on — if he is at the 
wicket than if he is at point or elsewhere. 
As to fielding at mid-off , mid-on, and out in 
the country, even for these places wicket- 
keeping encourages quick bending and 
reaching, and general alertness of mind and 
unflagging attention — merits which should 
be but seldom are insisted on in what we 
may call the ordinary positions. The wicket- 
keeper must, in sheer self-defence, be quick 
not merely to move but also to anticipate ; he 
must be accurate to time the ball and to 
use his wrist and fingers ; he must adapt 
himself readily, as when a ball is badly sent 
in by cover ; he must observe the bowler and 
— half unconsciously — the batsman ; he must 
remember how this or that ball will break. 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMP:NTS. 1 23 

and so on ; he must indeed know the whole 
game — all this, let us repeat, if only in self- 
defence and to save trouble. In contrast 
to him, the deep-fielder may go to sleep, 
or '' stug '' himself on his heels with legs 
stiff and '' thinking other things,'' without 
appreciable interest in each and every ball. 
The wicket-keeper dares not sleep : it would 
be as much as his face or fingers are worth. 

The habit of watching each ball carefully, 
of being ever ready beforehand, is a habit 
that every batsman, every fielder and, we 
may add, every watcher requires. A per- 
sonal interest is attached habitually to abso- 
lutely the whole performance and to each 
of the performers. The wicket-keeper, whether 
he be captain or not, takes a more than 
fatherly interest in every part of the play, 
for the sake of himself if not of his team. 

Besides this, the almost compulsory pluck, 
since many balls, like nettles, hurt less if 
taken boldly, the balance-shifting, the stoop- 
ing and stretching now here, now there, are 
certainly good for all play as well as for 
other games, for physical development, and 
for health (especially as a preventive for 
constipation). Anyone who studies the 
various positions (in photographs or in actual 



124 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

play) of Mr. McGregor, of Storer, of any 
expert, will realise the truth of this at once. 
Nor is it possible, I think, even for a spec- 
tator to watch the game satisfactorily unless 
he has sometimes stood himself behind the 
sticks and seen the play from that point of 
view. The following hints may be of use to 
those w^ho wish to try wicket-keeping. 

Every writer advises the wicket-keeper 
who has taken a ball on the leg-side to put 
down the wicket on the chance of the bats- 
man being out of his ground. This is a 
good rule, though it is by no means easy 
to take a ball on the leg-side, partly because 
the batsman himself obscures the view. 
This is one reason why Hirst suggests that 
for fast bowling the not over-good wicket- 
keeper should stand back unless the bats- 
man often runs out. 

To knock off the bails sharply on ordinary 
occasions is not so easy a task. It is neces- 
sary to be able to take any ball neatly in 
spite of the break and the bound. Hence it 
is good practice to get players to throw 
balls in to the wicket from various parts of 
the field. Such practice helps both wicket- 
keeper and fielders, but we never had it at 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 1 25 

school and of course at a college no one takes 
any trouble about fielding. The wicket- 
keeper can tell the fielder how and why his 
throwing is unsatisfactory^ and can see that 
the other fielders back up properly. 

The wicket-keeper should be the adviser 
of the captain^ pointing out to him these 
details and also any useful changes of posi- 
tion. He may advise the bowlers as well — 
but with discretion^ lest he be confounded. 
Captains and bowlers do not use their wicket- 
keeper nearly enough. He ought to be an 
invaluable guide-book. 

Dr. W. G. Grace describes the wicket- 
keeper's position as follows : — 

'' Their hands are touching each other 
unless the ball is wide of the wicket, and 
catching or stumping is done without any 
show or fuss. They always stand with a 
full front to the bowler/ and seldom move 
the feet unless the ball is very wide.'' 

The wicket-keeper has to stretch in various 
directions with right or left hand, now up, 
now down, now straight out. He needs 
the power of stooping sideways. At the end 
of each extension, or at some intermediate 
place, he must be able to draw^ back his 
hand or hands slightly so that they '' give " 



126 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

to the ball. If one studies the different 
places at which the ball is taken^ one can 
soon devise exercises to make the movements 
of the legs and trunk and arms easier and 
quicker. The fast full movements are essen- 
tial to success. Boxing would be among the 
best of trainings for this as for most athletic 
skill where large and — with many people — 
unwieldy limbs have to be moved rapidly in 
any one of numerous ways according as the 
quick eye shall telegraph to the obedient yet 
commanding brain. 

NOTES ON CAPTAINING, ESPECIALLY AT 
SCHOOLS. 

It often struck me, when I lectured to 
Civil Service candidates at Cambridge, that 
to captain a Cricket or Football team well 
was an infinitely better recommendation for 
a post than to know the dates of all the wars 
and battles of the Romans. The former is 
a test of something more than phonograph- 
accuracy. It is a test of leadership — of 
which virtue the crammed smug who can 
only just scrape through the riding examina- 
tion may be quite devoid. But the art of 
captaincy counts nothing here : it only 
counts in character and life. 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 1 2/ 

Besides the power to command others^ the 
ideal captain must have all-round knowledge 
if he is to be able to find out where lie the 
strengths and weaknesses of his team ; he 
should have some practical and personal 
acquaintance with all kinds of bowling and 
fielding as well as with wicket-keeping 
and batting, so that he may give timely 
advice. 

There is no need to carry the instruct- 
ing of a team to an American Football 
excess, but a hint from the land of exag- 
gerations may be of use. The Captain 
frequently consults every possible authority. 
Before an important match — let us say 
between Harvard and Yale — old boys will 
come down and talk over the team and the 
tactics and arrange special ^' plays." Every 
Captain should have a Committee which he 
may consult when he is in doubt. 

While he is choosing his team he should 
look among the juniors/ as Mr. Lyttelton 
advises. If he is a School-captain, he may 
notice two or three boys keen on fielding 
and on practice generally (and, by the way, 
he himself should set a good example here); 
perhaps these boys are trying the stump- 
practice suggested in a previous chapter. 



128 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

Well, let him decide to turn these boys into 
batsmen and bowlers as well, by urging 
them to whatever helps he thinks good — 
perhaps to the practice with a bat along a 
line chalked on the floor and to other exercises 
suggested here. Anyhow he must always be 
looking out not only for promising young 
players, but also for keen young fielders. 
The desire for batting or bowling may be 
taken for granted. It is the fielders that 
are wanted. But of course the batting and 
bowling must be duly considered. There 
should be at least one left-handed bowler. 
And there should assuredly be an extra 
wicket-keep. Since the weather is so promi- 
nent a factor in the game, and as some 
players are almost hopeless on a difficult 
wicket, it might be suggested that the 
eleven for the most important matches 
should have a wider margin for choice than 
is usual, though the possible names must, 
for the sake of convenience, be decided on 
at least by the previous day. So much for 
the choice of the team ; and now for its 
practice. 

As the team need not be decided on 
finally, till as late as possible, so neither 
need be the positions of its members in the 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 129 

field, nor the order of going in. The posi- 
tions and the order should be occasionally 
changed. 

The captain should insist on punctuality, 
on neatness of clothing, perhaps even — if he 
dare — on clean hands as well as a pure heart, 
and certainly on keenness. At school he 
should try to get the most distinguished old 
boys to say a few words to the eleven. 

He should also insist on all-roundness ; he 
should insist that every member occasion- 
ally keep wicket, and (as we have said above) 
occasionally field in a place not his own, 
and occasionally bowl, and occasionally bat 
under difficulties — as with a broom-stick at 
stump-cricket or '' snob.'' Nothing more 
quickly reveals the crooked bat. The cap- 
tain himself should practise all these things, 
and especially fielding : otherwise what right 
has he to curse ? If he sees the interest 
flagging, he should arrange more exciting 
matches. And he might do worse than 
devise some system of handicaps. 

When the members of a visiting eleven 
have arrived, the captain's first thought 
must be for them : he must put himself in 
their place. He may delegate his duties to 
the second or third man in his team, so 

9 



I3C> WICKET-KEEPIKG, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 



that he may attend to the details of the 
ground and the play. 

Before and during a home or '' foreign '^ 
match he must set an example of careful 
training and pure living, making it clear that 
excess is not manliness. He must not be a 
prig : he need not say, '' Don't do that '' ; 
he can say, '' I shouldn't do that if I were 
you.'' He is not a schoolmaster, and, even 
if he were, he might do worse than use that 
turn of phrase. 

If he wins the toss, he should probably 
put his own side in. Many hold this to be 
a rule without exception. Anyhow, he 
should inspect the ground and notice any 
peculiarities of light, etc. 

During the play he must be watchful of 
all sorts of things, and in the field he should 
therefore be as near to the wicket as possible. 
Point is a good place ; wicket-keeping is 
still better, for then he can judge of the 
bowling and give hints to the bowlers. If 
he himself be a bowler he should have a 
candid friend who isn't one ; this candid 
friend must be consulted. 

Other hints are given in abundance by 
the many well-known writers on the game ; 
to whose books we can safely refer the 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. I3I 

reader for such hints as that the fast bowler 
should be put on against the tail of the 
enemy ; that the erratic bowler may be put 
on to break up a well-set pair. 

These books the captain must read for 
himself. He must make notes from them, 
unless he has a superlative memory. He 
must think. He must observe. He must 
be tactful without weakness. Indeed, he 
should be far the most intelligent man in the 
eleven ; and, if he is, he is probably worth 
his place in the eleven even if the utmost 
that he can do is to eat and drink in sensible 
moderation, and watch and field with un- 
flagging energy. 



NOTES ON IMPLEMENTS. 

One of the ablest of writers on Cricket, Mr. 
W. J. Ford, suggests ''what the cricket-bag 
should contain, apart from the actual weapons 
of offence and defence.'' He says : '' It is a 
great addition to one's comfort to have spare 
socks and handkerchiefs (we may add vest 
and shirt) on board ; a small bandage is 
often useful, especially adhesive bandage. If 
you are lumbagic or rheumatic, don't omit 
a cholera belt of red flannel, and do not 

9* 



132 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

forget to put it on when you come in steam- 
ing from a century^ and have to sit in a 
draughty pavihon. Sticking-plaster is often 
useful^ so is a hair-brush, hkewise bags for 
boots ; nothing is gained by mixing up 
muddy boots with flannels, sweater, and 
blazer. Add a button-hook and shoe-horn/' 

Boots are generally admitted to be prefer- 
able to shoes. They should be easy, but not 
too easy. The American pattern of boot is 
among the best, though anything more 
hideous than the black Lawn Tennis horror it 
would be impossible to conceive. The boots 
must be white. A high authority says that 
they need not have many nails, but too 
many nails are better than too few, lest one 
trip or slip when one turns. It is common 
sense, as Shrewsbury says, to put two near 
the toe, as runners do. Extra nails should 
be kept in the cricket-bag, with the means 
for inserting them. A good nail is the 
sparrowbill (from Shaw and Shrewsbury, 
Queen's Square, Nottingham), or the Not- 
tingham nail. 

Clothing in general, as Ranjitsinhji says, 
should satisfy the demands of '' ease, con- 
venience, and comfort, as well as of health 
and cleanliness. The shirt ought to be of 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 1 33 

canvas, wool, or flannel : flannel is always 
preferable if the wearer can put up with the 
irritation. Both trousers and shirt should 
be made to fit loosely, not flappingly. Boys 
are in the habit of putting on belts. This is 
a mistake, since the noise the belt makes may 
at times be mistaken for a catch at the wicket. 
I advise instead scarves or sashes, which also 
have a smarter appearance.'' So far as health 
is concerned, the flannel shirt (which is worn 
by most professionals) renders the wearer 
less liable to chill after a sweat, but hardens 
him far less than the linen shirt. Under 
either can be worn a vest, after the habit 
of Shrewsbury and others, if the weather is 
at all cold. The sash is not healthy, even 
though it is smarter than the belt — which, 
by the way, need not be at all noisy. 

Clean flannels should be used as often as 
possible, since to wear things already rich in 
waste-products is not for the best. And 
flannels should never be kept in closed apart- 
ments. At Columbia University, in America, 
the lockers had wire trellis-w^ork and not 
wooden covers, and the small changing room 
for hundreds of men was quite free from 
disagreeable smell. 

In case of severe heat a light sun-hat is safe. 



134 WICKET-KEEPmrr, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

In case of cold weather a sweater is usual. 
To field well with cold hands is a miracle. 
At the beginning of the season thick kid 
gloves might be worn^ as they are by Abel and 
Shrewsbury ; or at least they can be made 
to cover those parts of the hand that blister 
most readily. Adhesive plaister round the 
finger will save friction if a blister has al- 
ready formed and burst or been pricked. 

The pads should be carefully chosen with 
a view to ease and lightness as well as pro- 
tection. Shrewsbury's idea of an extra piece 
to protect the knee is to be commended. 
Otherwise let the pads be only just thick 
and heavy enough to give the feeling and 
the reality of safety. The fastenings should 
be good and not of inferior leather or elastic. 

Here as elsewhere this advice holds good, 
to choose your implements for yourself ; try 
before you buy ; treat them with respect ; 
learn how to mend them ; carry about the 
means of mending them. A '' housewife " 
with needles, good thread, scissors, safety 
pins, etc., will be invaluable. With a view 
to care and cleanliness, keep your best bat 
in some sort of a cover. 

As to the bat, for men and full-sized boys 
its weight might be 24^ to 25 oz., but that 



• WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 1 35 

is less important than the ease with which 
the blade of the bat rises. For a very slow 
wicket an extra i|- to 2 oz. might be advis- 
able, and hence at least two bats may be 
taken in the bag, if only in case of change 
of weather. But a comfortable feel is the 
great requisite, a comfortable feel not merely 
as you stand and hold the bat but also as 
you move and use the bat. If you have 
active feet and good shoulders and trunk 
then you may manage a heavier bat than 
if you have less active feet and a weaker 
forearm and wrist. The handle should bend 
lithely backwards and forwards rather than 
sideways. It can be made thicker by wash- 
leather if the hands are moist ; and if they 
are wet, by the rubber covering, which adds 
over an ounce of weight to the bat and thus 
helps the blade . to rise. The wood of the 
bat is often found to be cut away from all 
the bat except just the part with which one 
hopes to stroke the ball. This, as Shrews- 
bury says, is not desirable, since one cannot 
always judge the rise of the ball absolutely, 
and though a stroke with the extra-fat part 
of the blade may be '' very, very nice,'' the 
stroke with the thin part may be '' horrid.'' 
Shrewsbury's bats are less exaggerated, so 



136 WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 

that they allow the batsman more surface 
to drive well with. 

The blade should be oiled say once a fort- 
night, but not too heavily, lest the driving 
power be decreased. One needs a nice soft 
bat which after use shall show not cracks 
but dents — a bat which shall have a slightly 
hollowed middle-blade. In its infancy, use 
it with soft old balls by preference ; train it 
gently as a boxer might train his face to 
receive hard blows. Notice where the dents 
come, and correct your play accordingly ; 
those which are off the best driving part are 
like the blue marks of the schoolmaster's 
pencil. When the bat is injured, use string- 
binding in preference to pegs ; learn how to 
do that string-binding, and keep a little 
string in your bag. 

In your bag keep also a comfortable pair 
of batting-gloves and a ball. '' Neither a 
borrower nor a lender be " ; certainly never 
lend a ball. I would add also a Lawn Tennis 
ball and a stick ; the latter if only in case of 
a walk in new country, the former in case 
of a wet day when Snob-cricket is far better 
than loafing. Every pavilion should allow 
of this game, as every ship should allow of 
deck Cricket. The game should be played 



WICKET-KEEPING, CAPTAINING, IMPLEMENTS. 1 37 

with a soft ball and stick or stump, not with 
a hard ball and bat. 

If you take a favourite book also, a Mem- 
book or Diary with a pencil, and also a com- 
plete list of all the things you want in the 
bag, so that you never have to borrow what 
may not fit you, or be as the foolish virgins, 
you will be better off than nine out of ten 
cricketers are. 



138 



CHAPTER V. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL-ROUNDNESS IN 
CRICKET. 

'' The right and proper thing would be for 
cricketers to pay equal attention to bowling, 
batting, and fielding, especially in their 
young days. All are equally essential parts 
of the game. Why not regard them as 
equally valuable ? The doctrine of the divi- 
sion of labour holds good in cricket as else- 
where, but every cricketer should, as far as 
lies in him, qualify himself for every emer- 
gency. Most amateurs take no trouble what- 
ever with their bowling, except in matches.'' 
— Ranjitsinhji. 

I have heard it said that Richter, the great 
conductor, could himself play every instru- 
ment used in his own orchestra, so that 
at once he knew where and how the general 



ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 1 39 

effect was weak. On the same principle 
the captain of a team should as a rule be 
an all-round player — a batsman^ bowler^ 
fielder^ watcher — though there are some cap- 
tains who do not excel much in any sphere 
except captaining, and yet are worth their 
place in their team. 

But it is not merely the captain who 
gains by being an all-round player. Cricket 
has as its object to fit every cricketer for 
his all-round life, as games and exercises 
prepare young animals for their narrower 
life. We have used games with this result 
if not with this object for generations past ; 
year by year, whether we know it or not, 
we shall have to rely on them more and more. 
And anyhow a certain time, perhaps amount- 
ing to hundreds of hours, is sure to be given 
to the play. Therefore it is as well to get the 
most that we can out of that time, and to get 
the most that we can out of each department 
of Cricket ; in the spirit of Shrewsbury, study- 
ing it as a pleasant art ; with Abel, entering 
into it keenly and smartly ; and, like Hirst, 
aiming at many-sided excellence. 

We cannot all be Hirsts, F. S. Jacksons, 
J. R. Masons, T. Haywards, A. G. Steels, and 
so on ; that is obvious. But most players 



I40 ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 

are content never to try, or else to try 
wrongly and then give up. There never was 
a greater error. 

Let us consider batting alone. Even for 
successful and therefore enjoyable batting 
(batting has been, is, and will be most en- 
joyed and most sought after, and therefore 
has been, is, and will be least uncultivated ; 
many cultivate nothing besides), even for 
this we need more than practice at a net or 
in a game, indispensable as these are in their 
proper place. 

First of all, unless we are genius-players, 
we need a knowledge of bowling ; we need 
not only to see the bowler's wrist and fingers, 
but also to get an idea of what will happen 
to the ball when it has left the fingers. In 
Tennis I never knew what was going to happen 
to a service until I learnt how to serve. 
Otherwise I played as if there would be no 
special cut or twist or drag. So practice in 
bowling may give the best knowledge of 
bowling for the batsman's purpose. Take 
a Lawn Tennis ball, and study the ways of 
producing various breaks, etc. — I recommend 
a Lawn Tennis ball because it shows the 
break more clearly, and can be used in a 
room ; then produce these breaks with a 



ALL- ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 141 

Cricket ball (don't let it loose) before a large 
mirror. After a time you will know what 
to expect when you see certain signs^ such as 
the middle and third finger curled inwards 
against the bowler's palm. Besides, when 
you have yourself bowled certain balls, you 
will know where the batsman generally hits 
them, and what faults he generally makes. 
You can avoid these faults, while on the other 
hand you can see at once, when you go in, 
where the fielding offers a gap. It is not 
every bowler who , knows his own weak 
spots. 

As a wicket-keeper one might learn still 
more about batting than one could as a 
bowler. It is amazing to me that so few 
wicket-keepers can bat even with moderate 
success. They seem to degenerate, like the 
idle watchers, with too much watching and 
too much ''knowledge ! " The wicket-keeper 
sees most of the game, and especially the 
batsman's faults and the bowler's merits 
of break, spin, change of pace, and so on. 
He has to watch the bowler's wrist and fin- 
gers. He should know precisely what balls 
should be left alone. 

Only a few degrees less useful for batting 
is a knowledge of fielding in all parts of 



142 ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 

the field, though every fielder should have 
one or two specialities. The good fielder, 
when he bats, can remember the curl of the 
ball hit to third man ; he can observe cover- 
point's attitude of slackness and steal an 
easy run, for he knows that a sloucher can- 
not run him out. 

And to watch a game well — that may be as 
valuable a help for batting as bowling, 
wicket-keeping, or fielding. Shrewsbury will 
observe the play and its many niceties — the 
duel between a good bowler and a good 
batsman — from various parts of the field as 
he walks about ; he will study length, pace, 
curl, the batsman's weakness. Some watchers 
appear to see all the faults. They don't play, 
but they may be made very useful as teachers, 
even if they only teach how to watch. One 
should watch the game not only as a whole, 
but also player by player ; and in a single 
player one should observe the bat alone, 
whether it be straight or not ; the left foot ; 
the left elbow ; the right leg ; and the re- 
sults on play. 

All-roundness is thus nearly a necessity 
for full success in batting, unless one is a 
genius-player. It is quite a necessity for 
full enjoyment. It is also a duty towards 



ALL- ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 1 43 

the team. But, besides its effects on batting, 
it has stin more obvious effects on bowhng and 
fielding themselves. 

Bowling should be tried and practised by 
ever}; member of the team, for the sake of 
the team as well as of the self. It is a plea- 
sure to the bowler, if it be well done. Were 
proof needed, why else do so many captains 
so often put themselves on to bowl ? Perhaps 
it may be a smaller pleasure than batting, 
somewhat as to besiege an enemy may be a 
smaller pleasure than to resist the siege or 
to make a sally. But bowling allows more 
errors — a single bad ball, unlike a single 
error in batting, need not be the end of the 
performance. Anyhow, bowling is a pleasant 
change from fielding, and gives one an extra 
chance of playing for a team. And, unless one 
plays for a team. Cricket is not much sport ! 
A fair bowler is becoming more and more 
useful to his side every year, with these 
billiard-table wickets. 

Wicket-keeping offers a similar inducement. 
At the last moment Jones fails — he hurts 
his thumb— why shouldnH he ? '' Well,'' 
says the captain, '' Smith (that's you) can 
keep wicket a bit." You are now, for the 
time, in the team. 



144 ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 

The same will apply to fielding also. To 
take an extreme case, an inferior field has to 
be terribly superior with the bat or ball or both 
if he wants to get a place in a Yorkshire or 
Australian eleven. For his own sake, as 
well as for the sake of his side, a boy or man 
must be safe and smart in the field. The 
work is often dull — six overs without any 
ball, but one can watch the bat and study 
where the man is weak. Or one can imagine 
oneself as the fielder to whom the ball is 
hit. In case this shall appeal to you, patient 
alertness and long waiting to pounce on an 
opportunity, are makers of character, as 
General Grant proved, and of money, as 
the army of American financiers show weekly. 
Fielding is worth doing well, and therefore 
worth practising well, whether with an india- 
rubber ball against a wall (for stopping and for 
catching), or with any ball and a stump or 
stick. Let two players, as we have sug- 
gested, stand on opposite sides of it, and throw 
in at it, varying the distance, and occasion- 
ally sending catches instead. A third player 
can act as a wicket-keeper or as a bowler 
receiving the throw-in. If I were a captain 
I should encourage this kind of thing ; I 
should look about for smart fields, and get 



ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 145 

them to practise in this and other ways. 
I should also get them to bowl a bit. 
I should not always pick out the batsmen and 
bowlers first, and neglect the fielders. A 
Vernon Royle, a Lohmann, a Gunn are 
worth a place in a team apart from other 
merits. They save runs not only by catch- 
ing, not only by backing up, not only by 
stopping hits, not only by running in, but 
by their reputation — the batsmen simply 
dared not run a short one when Royle 
was at cover — and by their contagious 
influence. 

I think that all-roundness justifies itself, 
and therefore all-round practice justifies it- 
self, even from the point of view of the selfish 
batsman who wants the best possible in- 
nings, quite apart from one's increased en- 
joyment as a change bowler, perhaps as a 
wicket-keeper, certainly as a fielder, and no 
less certainly as a watcher. 

But how ? What is the secret of all- 
roundness ? This book will offer advice to 
many, and hope to not a few. If you have 
not yet paid attention to the very founda- 
tions, the very A B C of good play (especially 
of batting and fielding), such as the posi- 
tions and movements of the feet, the full 

10 



146 ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 

extensions of the limbs^ the body-swing, 
the balance and prompt recovery, then you 
need not yet despair. Practice in these 
things will be far from useless for general 
athletic fitness ; there is scarcely a game but 
absolutely involves them. 

This, after all, is my chief plea for all- 
roundness : not merely that probably much 
time will be given to Cricket anyhow, and 
that the player may as well learn the whole 
of Cricket ; not only that thus his play will be 
pleasanter (or less dull), more useful to his 
health and physical development, more useful 
to his side, more useful to Cricket itself, 
but also that he will be better prepared for 
other games and other occupations, no 
matter what they are or shall be. He is a 
handy man, a footy and leggy man (if the 
ugly words may be pardoned, because they 
mean much), a ready man, disciplined and 
patient, yet alert and quick here and any- 
where. 

If you are going to play Cricket at all, or 
even to watch Cricket at all, all-roundness 
is worth while. Otherwise your days of 
fielding or of watching will be for the most 
part wasted ; your minutes of batting will 
not grow into quarter-hours, half-hours, 



ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 1 47 

hours ; your bowling will never have even a 
minute at all. Be a specialist if you like, 
but don't be only a specialist. Try if you 
cannot do the other things at least mode- 
rately well. 

Within the dominion of batting also there 
is need for all-roundness. Mr. C. B. Fry 
aptly remarks : — '' The great defect of school 
coaching is that boys are taught to play 
forward and nothing else. Boys are not 
taught to play back or to use their feet 
properly, either in turning to place the ball 
or in running out to drive ; nor are they 
taught to alter their play according to the 
state of the wicket.'' 

He himself is an all-round batsman. So is 
W. G. ; as one of his innumerable admirers 
says : — '' What W. G. did was to unite in 
his mighty self all the good points of all the 
good players, and to make utility the cri- 
terion of style. He founded the modern 
theory of batting by making forward and 
back play of equal importance, relying 
neither on the one nor the other, but on 
both." 

All-roundness is of value to every player — 
all-roundness in Cricket generally ; all-round- 
ness in the special departments of batting, 

10* 



148 ALL-ROUNDNESS IN CRICKET. 

and of fielding ; to be able merely to catch 
well^ or merely to stop well^ or merely to run 
well^ or merely to throw in well^ must not 
content the player. 



149 



CHAPTER VI. 

FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

No part of this book do I edit with such con- 
fidence as the part that deals with faults. 
I seem to have had every one of a certain 
class, though not want of endurance and 
strength, nor a bad eye, nor unwillingness ; 
ignorance I had, not apathy. My chief sin 
— of which I shall speak below — was that I 
tried to practise the whole rather than its 
parts ; I had matches, games, nets in abund- 
ance, and a few fielding lessons, but made 
hardly any progress. 

And so it is with most. They try the 
whole — or at least the whole stroke — all to- 
gether at first, seldom if ever concentrating 
their attention on any one part. They do 
what is natural, and this is usually '' wrong.'' 
They have no method of learning, except 
repetition which will only increase and ingrain 



I50 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

the faults. Authorities recommend net-prac- 
tice ; but much of it is surely next to useless 
until the ABC has been mastered by bats- 
man and bowler. If there are three bowlers 
at a net^ the batsman gets excessive variety 
of bowlings the balls follow one another in 
too quick succession^ each dulling the memory 
of the previous two ; after the stroke — in 
which there is little incentive for carefulness 
— the batsman does not recover balance and 
prepare to run ; the bowler has small induce- 
ment to lead up to a special head-ball, as 
he would by a consecutive series in a game, 
and, besides, he gets the wrong intervals — 
not a series, then a rest, but a single ball, 
then a rest ; last, and not least, there are 
few fielders. 

Let us be more concrete, and point out a 
few of the definite faults which are encour- 
aged rather than removed by ordinary net 
play and games. 

Stand directly behind the wicket in a 
school or college game, or behind a practice- 
net, and watch the batsman play forward ; 
you will generally see the bat move up and 
back and then towards the ball in a far from 
straight line. That fault, it is well known, 
may be partially remedied by practice along 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 151 

a chalk line on the bed room or pavilion floor. 
'' Play with a straight bat/' is the most 
familiar commandment. Besides^ you may 
notice that his left foot does not go out nearly 
to the full extent of which a young and 
vigorous limb should be capable^ and it does 
not go out straight ; the bat may move to- 
wards the ball^ but between it and the left 
foot is a great gap^ through which the ball 
may pass. This is not the only fatal result. 
The left foot is sending the weight of the 
body too much to the left^ to the leg-side, 
instead of straight down upon the ball : 
there is loss of power. Now does the fault 
lie with the hands and arms and shoulders 
that move and direct the bat, or with the 
left leg and foot ? Sometimes with both, 
but nearly always with the left leg and foot, 
which tend to get away from their work. 
The lesson is obvious ; but I have never 
heard any coach advise players to practise 
their feet alone. Yet how else can one 
learn to control them — that is, if one does 
not control them instinctively — except by 
concentrating the mind on them at first and 
until they will of themselves do what one 
wants ? Mr. C. B. Fry alone seems to realise 
the importance of the feet — of their correct 



152 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

positions and movements. For years I have 
been studying them in Racquets and Tennis, 
for years I have been convinced that | this 
is why, ceteris paribus^ most unsuccessful 
players are unsuccessful ; for years I have 
been training mine ; and at length, instead 
of being always unready and out of position 
in my racket-games, as I was at Marlbo- 
rough, I am now told that I am almost invari- 
ably ready and in position. If this practice 
be vitally indispensable at Racquets and at 
Tennis, if it has proved abundantly worth 
while, why not at Cricket also ? In what 
essential respects do strokes at Cricket differ 
herein from strokes at these games ? 

This is just one example of the lines on 
which much of the book is written. As, for 
my own games, I studied Latham and Stand- 
ing, Brown and Pettitt, Fennell and Harra- 
dine, Saunders and Fairs, so here I have 
studied Abel, Hirst, and Shrewsbury. What 
they do regularly, if unconsciously, this I have 
found out by questions and by the incontro- 
vertible evidence of photographs, and this I 
have then analysed and described especially 
for the benefit of beginners, but also, it is 
hoped, for the benefit of others who — like 
myself at my own games — played and played 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 53 

and played^ practised and practised and 
practised, but wrongly, for want of simple 
teaching, for want of elementary apprentice- 
ship, for want of knowledge and mastery of 
the very alphabet of play ; and so scarcely 
improved but rather confirmed their bad 
habits. 

Let me diverge for a moment to give a 
word of warning. To all such players — 
whether their form of exercise be Cricket or 
Racquets or Tennis or Lawn Tennis or other 
games — I would say : '' Do not grudge time 
and trouble spent over the simple ABC, 
at the start ; get over the drudgery ; make 
the letters and words automatic — integral 
parts of your very self and of its cells, fibres, 
nerves, and muscles ; then and not till then 
play naturally. But do not imagine that it 
is worth while to play naturally so long as 
at least one-third of the mechanism of your 
body is wrongly employed or else atrophied 
through neglect. Develop all your important 
muscles (for pray tell me what important 
muscles are not wanted by a good batsman, 
a good bowler, a good fielder), by prompt 
fast and full movements of the two sides of 
the body independently — a most vital point ; 
by extension movements ; by practice in 



154 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 



weight-shifting and balance ; by imitation- 
batting and its various motions, imitation- 
bowhng, imitation-fielding and throwing, in 
a bedroom or elsewhere. (I do a little nearly 
every morning.) Then and not till then will 
you have a right to tell me that you can't 
play or can't improve in spite of nets and 
games. Then and not till then will I believe 
you. Till then, I repeat, you are not yet 
a real failure. You have not done yourself 
justice.'' For we wish in this book to prove 
several things that may give hope especially 
to young players and duffers, and to those 
who, alas, have abandoned our great national 
giame in despair, because they have not found 
it worth the expenditure of money, time, 
tediousness, and disappointment. 

Let us consider in how many respects one 
may very likely be making serious mistakes. 
Let us realise the multitude of possible 
faults. 

I. First of all — as the photographs will 
clearly show, thanks to the new idea of the 
white line out from the middle stump — 
the feet are the foundations of successful 
and therefore of enjoyable play. Abel plays 
with his feet. We must have their positions 
and movements not only correct but also 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 55 

automatically correct — already integral parts 
of ourselves — if we would wait well^ pl^y 
forward well^ pl^y back weU ,, pull well^ drive 
well^ step or jump out well, cut well, cut- 
drive well, bowl well, field well. So long as 
we have to be thinking consciously of our 
feet, we cannot focus our attention on the 
bowler's wrist or the batsman's bat. He 
who would succeed must — unless he be a 
genius, a born player— drill his feet for a few 
minutes almost every day. Such drill will be 
useful for many games and forms of sport, 
as for Football, Hockey, Track-athletics, self- 
defence, to say nothing of the mental and 
moral training which are indissolubly bound 
up with the physical. 

2. Secondly, the weight and the balance 
of the body must be under control both 
during and after the stroke or other move- 
ment. Over his foot- work and equilibrium 
the keen fencer will spend many months ; 
why should not the keen cricketer thus spend 
several hours ? Does he not think that 
Cricket is of more value than many fencings ? 
Now although the whole weight of the body 
must move together, especially in the forward 
stroke, yet perfect balance implies perfect 
(conscious or else sub-conscious) control of 



156 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

all the muscles, in Cricket scarcely to a less 
degree than in skating. To put the total 
force into batting or bowling would mean 
with the average player either a fall or a 
strain. But with special practice the power 
is acquired. Almost any one can by sheer 
practice, even of the least scientific kind, 
learn to direct his limbs and yet maintain 
his balance in skating ; and if in skating 
why not in Cricket also, particularly should 
special practice-exercises be devised ? These 
have been devised, and are offered in this 
volume. 

3. It is above all in the full extensions 
that average cricketers are weak. ^' I say, 
reach out and field them,'' is the complaint 
of the school captain ; '' Come forward to it ; 
get your bat well over the ball — get right to 
the pitch of it,'' is the refrain of the coach. 
But if the ordinary person followed out the 
instructions he would perhaps tumble over. 
Extension of legs, trunk, arms — this can be 
mastered by proper practice. Fencers and 
boxers can master it ; why not cricketers 
also ? 

4. Boxers and '' Bartitsu " experts have 
to be alert on the balls of their feet, and ready 
to move now here, now there — not ever to 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 57 

lose poise, but to put the full weight, to 
make the full extension, to shoot out the 
required limb or limbs fast and straight and. 
true. The batsman, the fielder, the bowler 
(at least after he has bowled), all have to be 
prompt commanders of their many-portioned 
persons, waiting for the unknown, or, rather, 
for some one out of the several knowns. At 
present we have scarcely any means, except 
the imagination, of practising preparedness 
for the unforeseen. But at least we can, 
again by specially contrived exercises as dis- 
tinct from dumb-bells, weight-lifting, strain- 
exercisers, gymnastics, develop an almost in- 
credible looseness of joint and litheness of 
limb, so that after a little play at the game 
itself, merely to have seen the ball will mean 
to have formed '' the ready '' in a moment, 
and to be waiting in '' the ready '' — '' the 
ready " being that position from which the 
strokes, etc., are most easily and safely made ; 
whereas without such practice we should 
have stood and waited in '' the unready '' 
and should either have missed the strokes, etc., 
altogether, or should have made them with 
difficulty and with risk. 

5. Nor is it mere quickness to prepare that 
the cricketer needs ; he needs also quickness 



158 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

to perform, to carry through. In the hun- 
dred yards sprint, one should not only start 
rapidly, one should also run rapidly. As 
training for this we require fast full move- 
ments, simple to begin with (first for the 
right side, then for the left) ; but afterwards 
more and more varied, complex, and speedy. 
Nothing could be better here than the Mac- 
donald Smith system. Slow movements of 
strain are not to be recommended for Cricket 
purposes, except in so far as they strengthen 
the fingers and the wrist and the forearm. 
And even these parts should not be strength- 
ened till they have already become prompt 
to start and to move, lithe and supple 
under the control of the will. 

6. A high authority, quoted in a previous 
chapter, asserts that Cricket does not need 
very special training. But we insist that, if 
one wishes — and one ought to wish — to run 
fast and vigorously and to move fast and 
vigorously (whether as a batsman or as a 
bowler or as a fielder), one should be in con- 
dition analogous to that of a football three- 
quarters. Quite apart from control of special- 
muscles or sets of muscles, one must be able 
to run and move not only fast, but often ; 
one must have endurance, or else one will 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 59 

amble after a ball — a disgusting sight to the 
true sportsman — instead of racing after it. 
And one should be calm ; calmness, I find 
in my own case, is an inseparable accompani- 
ment of good condition. Bad condition is a 
very serious fault ; it '' flusters " the player. 
There is no space to enlarge upon errors in 
detail ; for example, to warn the batsman 
against bending his right knee (except for 
the late cut), or against lifting his bat up 
and back in a crooked line before the stroke 
(this he can test by means of a looking-glass), 
or against standing too far from his work as 
if he were playing Lawn Tennis or Golf. 
These and other hindrances to success will 
be dealt with in the special chapters. Here 
let us rather try once again to emphasise 
the fault of faults. 

'' Don't slog at a ball well up to the off,'' 
'' Don't pull " — these are not fundamental 
rules ; they are good for nearly all beginners, 
but less applicable to him who has mastered 
the mechanism and elements of play already. 
The mistake is to have failed to master this 
mechanism ; to have neglected the appren- 
ticeship — an apprenticeship for a game which 
then becomes in itself an admirable appren- 
ticeship for serious life as well as a relief from 



l6o FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

that life, and yet is both complex and to a 
great extent against nature in general and 
the nature of a player of ball-games in par- 
ticular. To play forward with full force and 
with the bat near to the left foot and not 
tilted upwards — this implies a very special 
skill, with considerable restraint. The aver- 
age player fails here. He has neglected to 
practise with concentration and care certain 
all-important parts of his forward-playing 
apparatus. He might have mastered each 
one of these parts and made it his own, and 
then have combined them ; the straight full 
lunge with the weight thrown on to the left 
leg and with the right leg stretched straight ; 
the complete forward-extension of the left 
elbow with some shoulder-movement ; the 
turning of the left hand so that its knuckles 
shall face the bowler. For a late cut he 
might repeat, till they become easier and 
easier, the step across (an imaginary) wicket 
with the right foot, the shoulder-jerk, the 
forearm- jerk, the wrist-flick. Other strokes 
need other things ; the pull needs the body- 
twisting from the hips ; bowling needs not 
only large movements but also fine turns of 
the fingers and wrist. Let any player have 
neglected such mechanisms, and he need not 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. l6l 

wonder at ill-success. Should he disbelieve 
me^ then he must watch some expert at 
work : if the expert will give an exhibition 
stripped, so much the better. This will cer- 
tainly convince any one that the co-operation 
and co-ordination of many members of the 
body is demanded by nearly every depart- 
ment of the play. 

The use of the left-side will then emerge 
clearly into its prominent importance. 
Cricket can claim infinitely more left-sided 
skill and power than any authority seems 
to imagine. A man is said to bat right- 
handed ; but watch his ordinary play for- 
ward, feel his left shoulder and forearm and 
his left thigh : the stroke is only more right- 
sided than left-sided. In the drive along the 
ground, the left arm may serve as a powerful 
check, as it may in the late cut. Good field- 
ing requires frequent quick and complete ex- 
tensions of the left arm with power to catch 
while the extension is still complete. To 
throw in with the left hand nearly as well as 
with the right is an art alien to nearly every 
one ; but alien by neglect and not by want 
of birthright. Every boy should be taught 
to throw with his left hand, or at least to 
pick up neatly with it. Nor need any one, 

II 



1 62 FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 

until he has tried fairly and failed^ despair 
of some success as a left-hand change-bowler, 
thanks to the break from the leg and the 
unfamiliar point of departure from round the 
wicket. 

The utter inability of at least nine indi\4- 
duals out of ten to make a fast, full, and free 
extension with the arm in any unexpected 
direction is closely connected with their in- 
ability to throw the body's weight rapidly 
hither and thither without loss of balance, 
without sacrifice of '' the ready/' 

Hence and from other sources arise many 
special failings, which the use of ordinary 
strain-apparatus or heavy dumb-bells would 
probably do very little to correct. He whose 
first aim has been to become strong — a lifter 
or puller or pusher — may have hampered his 
rapidity of movement for years, if not for all 
his active years. Of course he needs some 
strength to hold and control a bat ; but 
even that should not be developed until the 
limbs already have their promptitude and 
speed. It is not a matter of physical '' de- 
velopment '' — a term used by ignoramuses to 
veil a multitude of faulty methods. It is a 
matter of proper physical development, one 
tending to freedom. And against this free- 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 63 

dom I am sure that the use of ^^ manly" 
implements and conditions by boys must 
militate. Most of the highest authorities are 
agreed here ; I select one or two quotations : — 

" There are three great difficulties with which young 
boys have to cope — the regulation size of the ball, the full 
distance between the wickets, and the full size of the bat. 
Some attempt has been made to provide them with bats to 
suit them, but, unfortunately, most small-sized bats are 
made of inferior wood and are badly shaped. All imple- 
ments and conditions of the game should in every case be 
proportioned to the players." 

'' Why in the world is it that small boys are made to 
play cricket with the same sized ball as Dr. Grace and Mr. 
Bonnor use ? What a ludicrous piece of mischievous uni- 
formity this is ! The only hope of making cricket as really 
attractive and useful to young boys as it might be, is to 
reduce the size of the ball as well as the size of the bat, 
and keep the full distance. At present a diminutive brat 
pummels the big ball with all his might, and it barely 
reaches cover point ; his best half-volley drive goes meekly 
into mid-on's hands — or, rather, it would, if the ball were 
not too big to get there. Not only is his hitting spoilt : the 
throwing becomes painful, and the bowling in spite of the 
short distance strains the shoulder. The game is out of 
proportion because the fields need never occupy their 
proper place, and the ball never travels to them as it will 
hereafter, nor can they be expected to stop it clean when it 
does reach them. The fact must be insisted on, that it is 
all important to make cricket thoroughly attractive to young 
players, or they will probably give it up." 

" Small boys cannot obviously use full-sized bats. The 

II* 



164 FAULTS IN TLAY AND PRACTICE. 

mischief that results if they do is fatal. It is impossible for 
them to play straight, because the end of the bat smites the 
ground and the stroke comes to naught. Besides which, 
the excessive weight makes them late for all the hits." 

Another disadvantage of this premature 
use of heavy implements is that it encour- 
ages tension. Players like Mr. L. C. H. 
Palairet are singularly free from it ; but 
they are so by nature. With comparatively 
few exceptions, the habit of tension is, 
alas, almost national. We English are a 
stiff-bodied and stiff-legged people : the legs 
and body may be fairly big and muscular, 
but the muscles are of the wrong order for 
Cricket — akin to lumps of wood rather than 
to lithe pieces of snake. Even when we watch 
cricket we often watch it with tense and 
strained bodies : we do not sit reasonably 
comfortable. 

Owing to these and other faults hundreds 
give up the game. They say that they can 
not play it regularly (because it takes up 
too much time), and that they do not play 
it well enough for it to be worth while. They 
may be anxious to keep in practice and to 
improve, but they do not know how. 

Others are not at all anxious ; theirs is 
the most serious hindrance of all — they are 



FAULTS IN PLAY AND PRACTICE. 1 65 

not keen. This is to some extent what is 
called '' constitutional/' but is largely due to 
ignorance of the ways of learnings and to 
neglect of some one or more of the branches 
of play. As to-day a person may be a clergy- 
man or a surgeon or a physician^ but is 
seldom a healer of the whole patient, so in 
Cricket a person will be a batsman or a bowler 
without any noticeable ambition to enlarge 
his sphere of skill. In batting he may even 
be a fast-wicket batsman/ failing regularly 
on caked wickets. For fielding he has no 
enthusiasm ; or, if he is a fielder, he is per- 
haps good either at catching or at picking up 
or at throwing in — not at all. 

Lack of enthusiasm, lack of concentration 
on and absorption in every part of the play 
as its turn comes round, this is almost fatal 
if not to success at least to success that is 
worth having. And I am not sure that the 
grievous and fatal error of allowing the eye 
to leave the ball too soon may not be to 
some extent a result of incomplete concen- 
tration. 



i66 



CHAPTER VII. 

GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

There are some who deny that any special 
or even general training is needed for Cricket. 
Ranjitsinhji says that '' cricket does not 
demand that severe course of training which 
is required by such athletic pursuits as 
football and running.'' That it does not 
get that severe course is obvious ; what it 
demands^ let us examine in the light of a few 
facts which no one would dream of dis- 
puting. 

If the game is to flourish^ if it is to remain 
interesting (or, shall we say, to become 
interesting again), our modern plumb wickets 
demand many more and far better bowlers, 
especially fast and medium bowlers. We 
hear laments over the brief career of a 
Richardson as if it were inevitable ; but 
knowing the nature of stimulants — they are 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1 67 



a kind of whip or spur — and that meat is 
one kind, tea and coffee another, alcohol an- 
other, to say nothing of the irritant stimu- 
lants such as pepper, mustard, and salt, 
can we expect a man to go unharmed through 
a series of hard seasons if he uses the whip 
or the spur even '' in moderation " twice 
or three times daily during many years ? 
Now has any well-known fast bowler ever 
yet paid any real and special attention to 
diet (apart from the general adherance to 
''moderation'' in quantity)? Has any, 
besides, kept up quick and interesting exer- 
cise of his body during the idle months ? 
I do not allude to weight-lifting, which may 
be fatal to fast bowling, but to sensible 
exercises and breathing-exercises, say for 
ten minutes each morning. To me it seems 
obvious that a fast bowler, if he wishes to 
keep up his pace and endurance, must keep 
up at least as severe a course as football or 
running require. 

Secondly, if the game is to be interest- 
ing and to flourish, we need good fielders — 
the second and I think the most important 
reform to counteract successful batting. 
We need fielders to be energetic, always 
ready to stretch out in any direction, to 



l68 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

run in any direction at full pace^ alert to 
back up^ quick to throw in accurately. 
Yet how many dozen fielders outside the 
Yorkshire and Australian teams^ how many 
out of our thousands^ are even reasonably 
brisk, especially at the end or even in the 
middle of a day in the country ? For my own 
part I should like to see a very severe course 
of training here ; if the boys or men are go- 
ing to stand there at all, let them at any 
rate stand in '' the ready/' The listless 
loafing in most school and college matches 
is positively disgusting. 

Thirdly, the batsman as well as the bowler 
and fielders should '' feel the nip/' as Abel 
and Hirst and Shrewsbury agree ; it is the 
result of fitness, and expresses itself chiefly 
in the fingers and wrist (at my games I get 
it in the balls of my feet also). The player 
should feel it not only during the first few 
minutes of play, but to some extent up to 
half-time at any rate. Mere endurance is 
not enough — this is not what I mean. I 
mean thstt joy in having hands and feet, 
which should be a general condition, but 
actually is an occasional condition — how 
many of the players can tell you why they 
have it at such-and-such a time ? I find 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1 69 

it comes naturally from my trainings which 
is as severe as I should adopt for football or 
athletics^ yet is a '' training without strain- 
ing/' a training that need not interfere 
with brain- work. 

It is more than endurance^ this feeling ; 
it is enduring freshness. And^ until both 
bowlers and fielders get it somehow or other^ 
Cricket will probably be a one-sided affair — 
poor sport for the majority. It is as helps 
towards this enduring freshness that I offer a 
few hints as worth putting into practice. Let 
their results speak for them or against them. 

Many professionals rely on walking, with 
an occasional run, as their sole exercise, 
and '' not too much '' as their sole law about 
diet, alcohol, and tobacco. Abel may prac- 
tice a few strokes in a room ; Hirst may 
play Knur-spell ; Shrewsbury may get some 
practice on cokernut matting. But for the 
most part net-practice and Cricket itself are 
waited for and relied on. Now all these 
things are good, but by themselves are not 
good enough for ordinary people. 

One notices a bowler run slackly after a 
ball, lest he should find himself out of breath. 
Breathing exercises are needed by nine 
cricketers out of ten. The whole apparatus 



I/O GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 



— low and middle and upper — should be 
developed by full and frequent inhaling 
through the nose^ by brisk movements^ by 
diving and swimming, and so on. He who 
has a bad wind, whether because some parts 
of the breathing apparatus are undeveloped 
or overdeveloped, or owing to fatness, in- 
digestion, constipation, smoking, drinking, 
deficient sleep, or sleep in bad air, muscular 
tension, etc., is at a most serious disadvan- 
tage. Either he does not run and move with 
speed, and thus is to that extent an inferior 
batsman, bowler, or field, or else he does 
move and becomes '' puffed," and of neces- 
sity loses '' eye '' and nerve. As Murdoch 
remarks : — '' There is no doubt in my mind 
that running affects your eyesight in a 
greater or lesser degree, according to the 
condition you are in." 

The following quotation is also sound com- 
mon sense : — '' The better your condition, 
the less chance there is of your doing what 
boxers have generally to do, and what I 
have often heard batsmen express as spar- 
ring for wind. If you should care to go in 
for a system of training, it can only do good ; 
for in every department of the game, the 
better condition you are in, the better chances 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. I /I 

you have of doing yourself justice. Good 
condition means stamina^ and you certainly 
want this to play a long innings ; and solely 
for the want of it I have seen batsmen get 
out. You certainly require it, should you 
have a day's outing in the field, especially 
so if you are a bowler ; so my advice is to 
make it a rule to be as fit as possible.'' 

But to return to breathing, breathing 
slowly outwards, together with a relaxing 
of the muscles, tends not only to endurance 
(by economy of force), but also to calmness, 
patience, and contentment. All players, and 
especially the nervous, need a very fine course 
of nerve-training in these. 

With the calmness, however, there must 
be promptness and quickness. The senses 
must send a quick message to the brain, 
which must then give a quick order to the 
muscles, which in their turn must quickly 
work together in harmony. As to the senses, 
we need to have a clear eye, and — a much 
under-estimated help — a keen ear. There- 
fore we need clear blood, which will give us 
also clean joints and clean limbs — joints free 
from deposits, limbs free from excessive 
fat or water or waste. We need a brisk 
intellect, including a sensitive observation 



172 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

and retentive memory. These may all be 
trained by the Macdonald Smith System, 
which I should like to see as a part of national 
education. It is not complete, but it is 
extremely useful. It will help, for example, 
to give a quick and fairly strong wrist with- 
out that stiffness which is singularly fatal in 
nearly every province of the game. 

Exercises according to this system, to- 
gether with exercises in complete extensions, 
will be suggested in other chapters. I 
should like to do away altogether with that 
popular test '' How large does the muscle 
look ? '' and to substitute for it, among 
other tests, '' How far does the limb stretch ? '' 
In the other chapters will also be empha- 
sised the importance of balance : one must 
be able to use weight without loss of poise. 

The subject of training has been dealt 
with in a special volume of this library, 
and food in particular has formed the subject 
of '' Muscle, Brain, and Diet." Here we 
must be content to select a very few hints of 
a general kind. Let us begin with food. 

To what we shall say there will be ex- 
ceptions. Some players are at their very 
best after the grossest excesses, perhaps 
partly because the blood has been cleared 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1 73 

for the time by the quantities of stimulants ; 
but such excesses cannot be rehed on to 
produce the very best. Moreover^ few such 
men last long, even though for a while the 
outward eye sees little or no decay. If 
any one thinks he must have an occasional 
'' bust/' let it be very occasional. Far 
safer advice would be as follows : — Find out 
what is nourishing to you. Don't assume 
that it must be meat. It may be cheese or 
Plasmon, or the pulses or nut foods or good 
grain-foods, all of which have plenty of 
blood-forming and cell-building proteid, as 
this little table will show : — 

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF PROTEID IN VARIOUS 
FOODS (uncooked). 

Beef 20. 

Fish 10. 

Eggs 12 to 16. 

Cheese 20 to 30. 

Plasmon 70 to 80. 

Peas (dried) 21. 

Lentils and haricots 23. 

Nuts 10 to 24 (walnuts and filberts 14). 

Ho vis 10. 

Wheat and whole-wheat products 11. 

Roots and tubers^ vegetables and salads. 



1/4 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

and most fruits^ though useful for other 
purposes^ are poor in proteid. 

Take enough nourishment : let that be your 
first rule. Take say four to five ounces of 
proteid a day^ trying and testing several 
sources when you have little at stake (as 
on Sundays). You can generally control 
one of your daily meals. Start the ex- 
periment there. Eat slowly and enjoy the 
taste fully. Don't swallow disagreeable 
masses of vegetables or slops : that is neither 
sense nor science. On Sunday give the in- 
side a holiday : that is both sense and 
religion. Let the Sabbath rest for the 
digestion be your second rule. 

Find out what are stimulants and nar- 
cotics^ and let your third rule be this : never 
to become the slave of them ; never to rely 
on them ; above all^ never to let yourself 
increase the quantity so that you have to add 
to the previous dose before anything '' be- 
gins to count.'' This is a practical counsel^ 
rather than a counsel of perfection. 

If you are against any great change^ any 
experimentation^ then let me give you some 
commonplaces, they are better than nothing. 
Keep to moderation in quantity ; go early 
to bed, till you find the fascinations of a 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1/5 

fresh head and body in the morning and 
throughout the day and many days to follow, 
greater than the fascination night after night 
of drinking^ smoking, and cards ; sleep 
with shut mouth, open windows, light 
clothes ; rise or work early ; clean yourself with 
warm water and friction; invigorate your- 
self with cool or cold water and friction, then 
with brisk full movements ; relax your limbs 
for a few moments now and at bed-time ; 
never have anxiety about anything ; never 
have ill-feeling against anyone ; add to this 
little repertoire all helps that are available 
everywhere, however poor you may be — 
not champagne, but air-and-light baths, mas- 
sage, and so on. Be clean with mind and 
mouth as well as in body and limb ; keep your 
physical vigour for play ; study health, not 
morbidly, but sensibly ; be able to box, 
and supplement Cricket with other games and 
exercises. 

During the play, play with your whole 
heart and soul, as a member of a team, but 
as an important and special member. Con- 
centrate not only while batting, bowling, and 
fielding, but while watching the niceties and 
learning new points, and also while practising 
at a net or in a room ; as when you exercise 



1/6 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 



yourself at starting in various directions^ or at 
step-dancing (as Mr. C.B. Fry advises), or at 
fast extensions, such as stooping, or at throw- 
ing movements, or at bowhng-movements. 
Concentrate as if there were nothing else at all 
in the whole world but to do each of these 
things very well — to do each of them better 
than any one ever expected you would be 
able to. Throw your nerve-power, your 
will and mind, your self, into your muscles, 
or, if you prefer, into their reflection in the 
looking-glass. Each pavilion should have 
a large mirror in it. At odd moments 
imagine different movements, different strokes 
— and especially when undesirable thoughts 
come, unless you have strength of mind to 
tire yourself out before sleep. 

Perhaps you will never become very great 
at batting, though fair batting seems to me 
to be within the reach of most people who 
take the proper trouble ; perhaps not very 
great at bowling either, though how most 
boys or men should expect to bowl while 
they have huge muscle-areas and tiny muscle 
areas so ill-controlled, I cannot tell ; at least, 
however, you may become great at fielding — 
quick to start and run, sure to catch. Think 
what that needs — and practise accordingly. 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1 7/ 

So much for the attention when you 
are playing, practising, or training, and when 
you are idle or inclined to worse than 
idleness. Insist on complete concentration ; 
recall again and again your wandering 
thought, your roving eye and inquisitive 
ear. Say to yourself, '' This one thing I 
do now with all my heart.'' 

But apply that same concentration to 
whatever you do, if it is really worth doing, 
or has to be done. Let each thing in turn 
be the sole thing for which you were born. 
When other things are to be done, resolve 
not to do or think Cricket. I believe that 
this may prove an excellent cure for stale- 
ness. 

The question of '' staleness " has already 
been well discussed by Mr. A. G. Steel, Mr. 
Edward Lyttelton, and many others. In 
my own games I believe I am never stale now, 
and I attribute this blessing chiefly to my diet. 
In the '' trinity of games,'' Cricket, there 
need be no staleness through boredom, if 
only the player will cultivate all-roundness 
of play, and will prepare for and supple- 
ment his Cricket by good brain- work, simple 
exercises, and general health-culture. Much 
staleness is the result of excessive, or else 

12 



178 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

badly-chosen, or else badly-used, or else 
deficient exercise, food, air, and so on ; some 
is the result of the law of vitality and of 
victory, that energy and success shall not 
be level, but shall have tides ; scarcely any, 
I believe, rests with Cricket itself. As more 
than one able writer has pointed out, a 
successful cricketer is, ipso facto, not stale. 

I am reluctant to preach, but it is useless 
to edit a book on cricket without making clear 
to the reader that there is a problem for him 
to solve for himself. No one else can pos- 
sibly solve it for him. The most I can do is 
to show my idea of the value of Cricket — the 
idea of one who has not excelled at it, but 
who has decided to practise it for all that it's 
worth. What is it worth ? On the answer 
will depend the answer to the question, '' Is 
it worth much training ? '' For myself, I 
unhesitatingly say '' Yes.'' During the next 
two years I shall practise exercises for Cricket 
— for batting, bowling, and fielding ; per- 
haps I shall not appear in any game or match 
at all till then. This must not be misunder- 
stood. I shall focus my powers upon the 
exercises and practice, but before and after- 
wards I shall try to keep them and the game 
in proper perspective with reference to brain- 



GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 1 79 

work^ character, the whole Hfe. Others must 
do the same, and cultivate Cricket according 
as it shall seem likely to help with reference 
to these ends — not as first thing, I know ; 
not as last thing, I hope, but wherever it 
shall aid the body-building and mind-build- 
ing of a citizen of the British Empire and of 
the world. And let me add a word. I am 
not sure that you will ever find a more all- 
round exercise for the whole self, the whole 
man (including the '' social animal '' of 
Aristotle), than Cricket will be : it is not yet 
so, but will be if it is properly played and 

practised and trained for, if 

But if it is not properly done, if you don't 
watch the game properly, trying to get hints 
for use ; if you don't ask for advice from the 
best professionals, experts, veterans, and spec- 
tators — they are the people ; if you loaf in 
the field and will not be prompt to start and 
stretch and sprint and pick up and throw in, 
and safe ''to have and to hold '' ; if you will 
not learn to bat with the help of your feet 
and legs (I don't mean your pads), as well as 
with a straight bat and forward left elbow ; 
if you will not do exercises without which you 
cannot tell whether you will be a bowler or 
not ; if you will not train, or give up any- 

12* 



l80 GENERAL TRAINING FOR CRICKET. 

thing, or study health at all ; or, on the other 
hand, if you will not work, and do not feel 
inclined to ; well, then, I shall say, Cricket 
is not worth much to you unless you are a 
born cricketer and also a born all-round boy 
or man. At the most it is an open-air occu- 
pation with a certain value for health, hardi- 
hood, discipline, social intercourse, but not 
much even of a recreation. At its best its 
physical results may and probably must 
develop corresponding intellectual and moral 
results, if not in this generation and in this 
life, then surely in the next. 



I8l 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SPECIAL EXERCISES AND NOTES ON 
PRACTICE. 

If any reader can easily perform the various 
movements of Cricket as shown in the photo- 
graphs and in the actual play of experts^ he 
does not require special exercises for Cricket. 
But — if we may judge by results — he is the 
exception ; he is the genius, the born player. 
How is it that we have so long tolerated 
Carlyle's ridiculous assertion, '' Genius is an 
infinite capacity for taking pains '' ? This 
is just precisely what genius is not. In 
Cricket the genius-player plays correctly with- 
out taking pains, almost without taking 
thought. For such players this book is not 
written. It is written for beginners and 
others, to suggest certain exercises and prac- 
tice and principles of practice which are not 
necessarily quite correct, but which are the 



t82 exercises and notes on practice. 

best which some of the most successful 
models have hitherto enabled me to devise 
in order that care and art '' may triumph 
over nature till art becomes natural/' It is 
this second nature^ this sedulously acquired 
nature, which now has become so much a 
part of myself at Tennis or Racquets that the 
sedulous attention is utterly denied by many. 
What I have done at these games, others can 
do at Cricket. 

Is such practice worth while ? will be the 
question asked here, as in the chapter on 
Training. Here, as there, the answer de- 
pends on whether Cricket well (or better) 
played is worth while ? What is meant by 
Cricket well played ? Enjoyment, health, 
physical and mental and moral education. 
If these are brought or increased by im- 
provement, and if improvement results from 
such practice, then such practice is worth 
while. Only personal experiment can decide 
on the merits or demerits of the system ; 
certainly it is economical of time as well as 
of money, since five or ten minutes a day 
are quite enough. 

The part-by-part system of practice has 
been defended at some length in '' The 
Training of the Body.'' American athletes 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 83 

use it with great energy and great success ; 
examples are given in the chapter on Fielding. 
Mr. Edward Lyttelton, in his book on Cricket, 
remarks of the learner that '' his principal 
task may be described as learning certain 
motions till they become habits. ..." While 
he frequently advises bedroom-practice with 
a bat and without a ball, he does not suggest 
bedroom-practice without a bat. Yet it is 
by such practice first of one part of the 
mechanism, then of another, that all the 
parts can be made good and easy and then by 
degrees be combined harmoniously together 
in good and easy strokes. Otherwise some 
part or parts will almost certainly be done 
wrongly. 

For many of the strokes and other move- 
ments of Cricket are not natural — are even 
against the natural movements. The reader 
should study what Ranjitsinhji sa5^s on pp. 
152 and 158 of his book (First Edition). 
He says : '' Both batting and bowling call 
into play particular muscles" (I suppose he 
means ^^combinations of muscles") '^ which 
they alone can exercise." One might add 
wicket-keeping and fielding, with their quick 
stooping and stretching to this side or to 
that. Let the forward-stroke be again out- 



1 84 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 



lined^ to show how httle likely one is ever 
to master its mechanism without mastering 
the parts of it. 

In order to smother a ball successfully 
by forward-play, one needs an eye to watch 
and observe intelligently and to send a 
report quickly and accurately to the brain, 
and then to watch again ; this, and what 
will follow, one needs to have as nearly 
automatic as possible. One must have a 
good brain to order and ensure correct and 
well-timed and co-ordinated movements of 
the muscles ; these include (i) a rapid and 
direct lunge of the left foot, slightly to the 
left of the approaching ball, and with the 
body-weight ; (2) a firm right foot and 
straight right leg ; (3) the head coming 
(with the body-weight) over the left foot ; 
(4) a rapid and direct extension of left 
wrist, left elbow, left shoulder, the knuckles 
of the left hand leading the way, the 
fullest force to come at the instant when 
the bat shall strike the ball ; (5) a 
straight bat (covering the wickets as much 
as possible) ; (6) preservation or rapid re- 
covery of balance ; (7) alertness to run 
forward, if necessary. These being some 
of the requisites, how many are likely to 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 85 

possess them merely through net-practice 
or games ? 

Of course some net-practice and games 
must come before and while the part-by-part 
system is tried, if only to give interest to 
the system, to show the difficulties of the 
game, to show the progress made, and — 
because human nature is as it is. But too 
many games by themselves will tend chiefly 
to accentuate and habituate the natural 
movements, which are faults. The proba- 
bility of many faults — I myself had nearly 
all when I played — will be clear if we con- 
sider how many different classes of move- 
ments are involved in the stock-in-trade of a 
good all-round cricketer. We are so deluged 
by the general word '' exercise,'' that we 
forget how many provinces it has, instead 
of being simply a matter of large biceps and 
power to lift weights. Such symptoms have 
little to do with success in Cricket ; they may 
even have something to do with failure in 
so far as — for example — they bring with 
them slowness and neglect of the internal 
organs of the body. I notice that one book 
of '' Physical Culture '' suggests a series of 
strain-exercises as useful for batting, bowl- 
ing,_etc. I should consider these to be hin- 



1 86 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 



drances rather than helps. Imagine a per- 
son who should practise fast throwing, by 
movements against a strong resistance ! 

If only in order to expose the fallacy that 
every form of '' exercise '' — any and every 
exercise in a gymnasium or elsewhere — 
must be useful for the motions of Cricket, let 
us note 

THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF EXERCISES 

which are demanded by Cricket as a '' trinity 
of games/' including the two very complex 
arts of batting (forward-play, driving, back- 
play, cutting, etc.), and of fielding (starting, 
running, catching, picking up, throwing in, 
etc.). 

Fast full movements are to be found in all 
these departments of the game, as the photo- 
graphs will show : for example, one often 
stretches out quickly to the full reach in 
forward-play, in overhand bowling, in field- 
ing a ball nearly out of reach. 

These and other features of play require 
not only a fast and full movement, but also 
an independent control of the various muscles 
in various combinations, and a rapid start. 

Fast and partial (or arrested) movements 
are scarcely less important. Thus the bats- 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 8/ 



man must be able to draw certain strokes 
up with a sharp jerk, lest he send a 
catch ; the bowler to alter his action by 
using some part of his mechanism only 
slightly ; the fielder to let go the ball at the 
right point during the action of the throw. 
The feint at boxing and at all games often 
requires this partial or arrested movement 
of some muscles, and therefore, again, in- 
dependent control of these as well as a rapid 
start. 

Some movements will be fast, some less 
fast, some quite slow. One should control 
the pace. 

This must all be with balance : he who 
has played forward must immediately be 
ready to run ; he who has bowled, to catch 
or field or get behind the wicket ; he who 
has run to field a ball, to throw it in. '' The 
ready," that is to say the most effective 
point de ddpart^ must be lost either never or 
for the smallest possible fragment of time. 

In the first class of movements we had 
extensions, say of the left arm in fielding, 
made fast and fully. Sometimes such exten- 
sions must be not only made, but also held, 
as when one stoops to field a ball with the 
left hand or stretches that hand out to make 



1 88 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 

a high catch. At the end of this complete 
and sustained stretch there must be mastery 
of the mechanism : the hand must first 
yield slightly, then grasp safely. . 

Some strength is needed for forearm, 
wrist, thumb and fingers, etc. It is prob- 
able that strength is a quality to be acquired 
last, or at any rate after the rapid and ready 
and independent control of the muscles ; 
lest prematurely elaborated strength and 
strain bring sluggishness and tardiness. 

The numerous co-ordinations of muscles 
and muscle-groups (as outlined above, in the 
case of the forward stroke), must be under 
the sway of the well-timing eye which sends 
reports through the nervous system. Exer- 
cises are needed in observation as well as — 
to use technical language — in '^ quick and 
correct response to external stimulus,'' in 
'' immediate and happy selection of har- 
moniously performing muscular combina- 
tions.'' To the accuracy of observation, 
and of choice of muscles, the senses of hearing 
and touch also contribute their share. Some 
expert players exercise them abundantly. 

The imagination (based on the memory) 
must play an important part ; aside from 
any picture-painting in the mind, of oneself 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 89 

as batting correctly but attackingly^ bowl- 
ing steadily but headily^ fielding surely but 
briskly^ one must have as a kind of back- 
ground during the game the position of the 
wickets^ the fielders, and so on. 

It would be possible to classify the exer- 
cises differently. Thus we might consider, 
for example, running (ordinary starting and 
running forwards and backwards, sideways 
starting and sideways running forwards and 
backwards — no easy task — ), jumping, bend- 
ing, turning, lunging, stretching, and so on. 
There will be movements not only for the 
feet and legs and trunk, but also for the 
neck in various directions, for the shoulder 
(jerking and twisting), the whole arm, the 
forearm, the wrist, the fingers ; if one studies 
three or four catches, one sees how many 
parts of the body are to be used. 

But the feet and legs are the foundation. 
We hear much talk of the straight bat and 
the straight line of the bat's movement; 
but the feet and legs, their positions, their 
poise, their motions — these are the roots of 
success in Cricket as in Racquets and Tennis. 
I attribute nearly nine-tenths of my mis- 
takes at these games to-day to mistakes 
made by the feet. 



I90 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 



Last^ but not least, we must mention the 
need for supplementary exercises. Cricket 
should be not only trained for, prepared for, 
and played, but also supplemented. Left- 
side exercises, in particular, should correct 
the balance upset by the excessive use of 
the right side. 

Before we come to details, to actual 
exercises, we must first know how to do 
these exercises. A few hints on practice and 
its methods are indispensable. I crave the 
reader's patience while he listens to what 
may seem unpractical, but is really no less 
essential than the exercises themselves. 

GENERAL HINTS ON THE EXERCISES AND 
ON PRACTICE. 

The exercises which follow in the next 
section are not complete ; they are samples 
which each reader should supplement as well 
as correct. There is need of individual ob- 
servation here as everywhere ; let every one 
be prepared to amend and to add. This 
will make my suggestions far more interest- 
ing and useful. For instance, let him watch 
how it is that men get out or send chances ; 
let him watch (in games or from behind nets) 
each part of the stroke separately at first — 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 19I 

the feet in particular. Let him ask profes- 
sionals and other experts about the right 
pose and the right motion of each part. 

Then let him practise part by part. 

For if the whole movement consists of ten 
to twenty parts combined together^ and if 
of these ten to twenty parts at least five to 
ten parts are naturally wrong, how can he 
ever learn the whole satisfactorily, how can 
he ever unlearn the wrong and learn the 
right whole, unless he unlearn the wrong 
and learn the right parts, one by one ? As 
Mr. Edward Lyttelton says, '' On the prin- 
ciple of doing one thing at a time, it is 
admissible in practice, especially at first, 
to concentrate the attention upon each re- 
quirement separately. He ought to do the 
one, but not leave the others undone ! '' Let 
me illustrate this. At one time I could not 
write an essay ; all my essays were marked 
as very bad. Then I found out by degrees 
that essay-writing (like batting or fielding) 
was a complex art, and included, for me, the 
collection of true and useful ideas, the selec- 
tion of those which were wanted, the under- 
lining of the most important, the illustra- 
tion of these by comparisons, contrasts, etc., 
the arrangement of these and the others. 



192 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 

care for the beginning that it might be inter- 
esting^ care for the ending that it might be 
impressive, and then — and not till then — 
the expression of the ideas, which was to 
be grammatical, clear, brief, forcible, appro- 
priate, musical, and indeed full of virtues 
All these processes can be considered separ- 
ately ; I believe that they can all be mastered 
separately ; I believe that an essay can pos- 
sess any one or two or more of these virtues 
without possessing the rest. I am trying to 
improve gradually in each process separately. 
This also has been my method for learning 
Racquets and Tennis and other games. 
I have called it the part-by-part method. A 
perfect whole is not a mere collection of 
perfect parts ; it is a perfectly harmonious 
co-operation of perfect parts. The perfect 
parts must be combined. Yet the common 
sense of the reader will tell him that no 
perfect whole can possibly exist unless every 
part of it be perfect in itself. Let the genius 
do his work without knowing how ; duffers 
like myself must be content to begin by 
separate control of the individual mechan- 
isms. The combinations can be made later 
on 

Even if we insist on doing the whole as a 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 93 

whole^ yet it is on each part in turn that we 
must concentrate our mind and focus our 
attention. Independent control must, as a 
general rule, precede the various combina- 
tions. Such concentration on each part in 
turn need not produce jerkiness : it has not 
done so (except at the beginning of the 
practice) where I have applied it. It has 
seemed rather to send more blood to the 
part used, to shorten the process of learning. 

It is important that one should at first 
look at the part which is being used^ till it can 
attend to itself by itself ; that is, until it 
works easily and half- automatically. Or, if 
one likes, one can look at the reflection of 
that part in a mirror : this plan has its 
advantages. Choose whichever plan you 
prefer. 

For every reason, including attention, slow 
and full breathing through the nose is essen- 
tial to good practice. 

Correctness must precede pace, and cor- 
rectness with me has always demanded not 
only attention but also slowness at the start. 

Pace is the next requisite. It comes to 
some extent with sheer repetition ; but it 
must also be increased purposely. It must 
precede endurance and strength. For my 



194 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 

own games I begin with no implement at all^ 
so as to preserve freedom ; then I use a 
handle ; then the racket. I put speed and 
freedom and ease next after correctness. 

Endurance can almost be left to take care 
of itself. The oftener one does an exercise 
correctly and attentively^ the less easily tired 
the muscles will be. 

Only one must not practise to excess. Be- 
fore great fatigue or even before great bore- 
dom, the exercise should be stopped or 
changed. During the interval the newly- 
learnt movements will be more completely 
'' assimilated.'' When the joints are well 
freed, the movements should be not only fast 
but also full — that is, complete in both di- 
rections, so as to empty out the capillaries 
of the muscles and allow fresh blood to 
flow in. 

For the sake of economy of energy the 
unused parts should be loose and relaxed, 
not tight and tense. 

Exercises done thus, with a brisk snap, 
and a staccatoed i — 2, or — for a forward- 
stroke— out — back, are far more valuable 
than the dull strength-and-strain grinding of 
many so-called physical culture schools. 

These extensions of the muscles should be 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 95 

not simply made and then lost ; they should 
be held for a second or two. This holding 
of the extreme limit of reach will be a won- 
derful help for batting, bowling, and fielding. 
Notice the full extensions in photographs. 

The balance is to be recovered promptly 
or else not lost appreciably. 

The different simple movements, tho- 
roughly mastered, should be combined in 
twos, and then in threes, the complexity 
being increased gradually, but without the 
decrease either of correctness or of prompti- 
tude. 

vStrength — the power to lift or push or 
sustain heavy weights— is to come last of 
all. The wrist needs considerable strength, 
but it must not get that strength till after 
it has speed. Any strain that cramps one 
and makes one slow is undesirable for the 
mind as well as for the body 

Faults should be detected by another, or 
by means of comparison between photo- 
graphs of experts and one's self in a looking- 
glass. Having detected the fault, correct it 
by concentrating the mind on the part con- 
cerned, and then exaggerating the opposite 
fault. Thus, if you are inclined to send 
catches in the slips, you are probably playing 

13*- 



196 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 

away to the left rather than straight at the 
ball. Find out which part of your mechanism 
is wrong ; perhaps the left foot may be 
moving too much to the left. If so, then 
correct that by moving it purposely too 
much to the right. Find the error, and find 
the reason why it is an error. 

Many short, sharp spells, with concentra- 
tion, may be better than one long spell. 

The maximum of air and light should be 
admitted into the exercising-place, and the 
minimum of clothing should be worn. There 
should be a good wash and rub afterwards. 

There are many odd moments when wrist- 
or finger-exercises may be tried ; or when a 
cricket-ball may be handled and fingered till 
it becomes a familiar friend. Thus the grips 
of Hirst (see the photographs) and others 
can be partially mastered in this way. 

As to the imitation of others, authorities 
differ. Certainly I should say. Do not imi- 
tate any marked peculiarities until j^ou have 
control of the chief muscles which you may 
have to use. It is only after mastering the 
complete mechanism that you are in a posi- 
tion to choose. Premature imitation is not 
advisable. Later on, it may be well to study 
some expert of about one's own build, and 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 1 97 

try whether certain of his habits are useful 
to oneself or not. 

So far from urging that less attention be 
paid to the learning of Cricket^ I urge that 
far more attention be paid to it at the be- 
ginning, if Cricket is to be played at all. I 
should like to see a few lessons thoroughly 
learnt ; I should like to see these made inter- 
esting by biograph-mutoscope illustrations, 
especially of bowlers. A series of such illus- 
trations would pay a Company well. The 
boys should watch these and then reproduce 
them. I should urge more attention at the 
beginning ; but, on the whole, less time, A 
quarter of an hour's practice might often take 
the place of play or net-practice at the be- 
ginning. There would be increased economy 
of time, and afterwards increased skill and 
enjoyment. One would be training '' Young 
England '' in method. 

We may now give samples of 

ACTUAL EXERCISES, 

referring the reader further to the special 
Chapters on Fielding, etc. 

We have already insisted on the import- 
ance of foot-and-leg exercises in starting, 



198 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON TRACTICE. 

running (sideways and backwards and for- 
wards as well as straight forwards)^ jumping, 
bending, and stretching. The exercises lie at 
the roots of successful play, even if a few 
genius-players can bat well without them. 
For batting one needs in particular the side- 
ways-running with the straight right leg as 
the basis of action. 

The body-swing upon the hips, with power- 
ful play of the muscles round the shoulder, 
is scarcely less useful in all three depart- 
ments of the game : it has been described 
in a previous chapter. Every fast bowler 
knows how his back under his arms (especi- 
ally the latissimus dorsi muscles) aches after 
his first day of practice. 

The shoulders should be jerked up, down, 
backwards, forwards ; and also rotated. To 
keep both shoulders always back is not the 
ideal for a cricketer, who must be able to 
move either shoulder in any direction which 
the joints and muscles allow. If one feels 
the shoulders of good players while they go 
through the action of batting (including the 
cut of some players), bowling, and fielding, 
one is amazed at the amount of work that 
they do, work for which the arm and wrist 
get much of the credit. 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 199 

The forearm also requires to be jerked 
powerfully and fully, especially by the action 
(as already described) of whipping a peg-top. 

Full extensions of the arm are to be made 
in various directions : for example, one 
should reach up, down, out, across. They 
should be made, dind then held. At the end 
of them should be added some action of the 
fingers. It must be remembered that the 
wrist and fingers have to do not a little work 
at the full extension, whether in bowling or 
in fielding or (occasionally) in batting. Let 
the wrist-joint go the full distance ; beyond 
that point let it move about, and let the 
fingers move about. 

The hand needs to be shaken out as if it 
were a flag at the end of a stick. Then let 
it be exercised in various directions. First 
let there be the freedom, next the fast and 
full movements in each direction, next the 
partial movements. 

Finger- exercises can be tried at any vacant 
moment. The other hand can help to free 
them and stretch them and strengthen them 
by resistance : for here, as with the wrist, 
one does need some strength, some straining 
power, against the ball or bat. 

Massage is useful throughout these exer- 



200 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON TRACTICE. 

cises^ but is most easily applied to the fingers. 
'' Deposits/' which are causes and signs of 
fatal stiffness, may thus be removed, while 
the use of oil rubbed in, and attention to 
diet, will hasten the cure. The heat-treat- 
ment (known as the '' baking-cure ''), and 
the electric-light treatment, are both to be 
recommended. 

Each finger should be exercised and de- 
veloped separately, but the first finger in 
particular, for the sake of batting as well as 
bowhng : the bat sometimes is held chiefly 
if not solely by this finger and the thumb. 
The full extensions and full flexions should 
be eventually both fast and strong, and also 
independent of the wrist-movements, so that 
for instance, while the bowler's wrist is still or 
putting on one break, his fingers may move 
or be putting on another break, with intent 
to deceive. The thumb must not be 
neglected. It can be freed and extended and 
strengthened by the aid of the other hand. 

x\s we suggested just now, a ball should 
occasionally be held in the otherwise idle 
fingers, a Lawn Tennis ball being at first 
preferable until the fingers have stretched 
and grown powerful. Various grips and 
movements should thus become familiar. A 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 20 f 

box-full of old balls might be used in order 
to practise bowling or fielding : the Lawn 
Tennis ball exhibits the effects of a break or 
curl in the air far more clearly than a Cricket 
ball. The practice may be by the player 
himself against a wall^ or with another player, 
a stump being put between the two, and a 
third player acting as wicket-keep. 

There should be practice of alertness, of 
control of the body's weight, after each set 
of large muscle movements. For Racquets 
and Tennis I often practise in my bedroom a 
hard service of one kind or another, and then 
I immediately recover that waiting position 
from which I must be prepared to start in 
almost any direction at once, I suppose 
that skating must be almost the ideal train- 
ing for weight-control. 

The following exercises may be found very 
useful for various reasons : Peg-top whip- 
ping, some ball-game exerciser (like the 
patent for Lawn Tennis, but adapted to 
Cricket), Fencing, Boxing, Bartitsu, Hockey, 
Golf, Racquets, Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Fives, 
Squash, hopping and skipping. 

These are merely suggestions. Each 
reader is urged to devise his own means of 
exercise. Let him work on the lines that 



202 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON TRACTICE. 



Mr. C. B. Fry so admirably lays down in an 
article in the ''Strand.'' He says^ with 
reference to his high jumping : ''I believe 
what did me more good than anything else 
was doing standing jumps regularly^ every 
mornings over a big arm-chair in my room ; '' 
and^ again : '' Although^ like most other 
footballers^ I improved in value in some 
respects after I left school, and became 
heavier and stronger, I have never since 
been able to kick as neatly and accurately 
as I could then. I put this down partly to 
the constant practice we used to have at 
school in kicking a football about at odd hours, 
on a piece of ground called the paddock, 
and partly to the constant playing of what 
we called ' yard football.' We used to play 
this game in the asphalt yards attached to 
our houses, wearing tennis shoes and using 
an indiarubber ball about a third the size of 
a football. This game made one very accu- 
rate and quick with one's feet. I have often 
wished since I could get the same sort of 
practice." 

Mr. Edward Lyttelton is equally to the 
point, when he remarks : '' The truth must 
be insisted on ; many a cricket match has 
been won in the bedroom. And even with 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 2O3 

the ball a good deal may be done. I could 
name two eminent batsmen who used^ as 
boys, to wait till after the day's play was 
over, and the careless crowd had departed, 
and in the pavilion gave ten minutes or a 
quarter of an hour to practising a particular 
style of defence, about which more anon ; 
the one bowled fast sneaks along the floor 
to the other, at about ten paces distance. 
This, too, yielded fruit in its time. Like all 
other great achievements, the getting a 
score against good bowling is the result of 
drudgery, patiently, faithfully borne. But 
the drudgery of cricket is itself a pleasure, 
and let no young cricketer suppose that he 
can dispense with it, though some few gifted 
performers have done great things with ap- 
parently little effort.'' 

Besides the exercises outlined here, each 
player should certainly use supplementary 
exercises, especially for the breathing muscles, 
the abdominal muscles, the erector spinae, 
and the trapezius. So many of them are 
needed to correct deformities that I prefer 
not to offer any samples here. Some system 
should be chosen which gives exercises gradu- 
ated according to the individual.* 

* The Macdonald Smith system is most appropriate for Cricket. 



204 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 



The left side needs to be used in exercises 
and in games. A few words must be said 
about this much-neglected half. 

The left side probably should not be 
trained up to the same pitch of excellence 
and versatility as the right side. Not only 
are some of the organs on the two sides dif- 
ferent (for example^ the stomachy liver^ and 
heart)^ but apparently the supply of blood 
to the two sides is not equal. On the other 
hand^ our present neglect and consequent 
atrophy of the left side is scandalously un- 
fair and obviously disastrous in its general 
results on health and physique. Even for 
Cricket alone, we require the left side for 
fielding, and (far more than most people 
imagine) for batting, especially in forward- 
play. Moreover, there should be more than 
one left-hand bowler in each team. Such a 
bowler's ball approaches the batsman from 
an unusual direction and with an unusual 
break, tending to elicit catches on the off- 
side. The Americans, led by Professor Tadd, 
have shown that the left arm can draw and 
model and do other things practically as well 
as the right ; and the majority of children 
brought up on Tadd's principles are nearly 
ambidextrous. 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 205 

But how can we become left-handed ? 
Well, apart from left-side exercises, and such 
forms of sport as Boxing and Fives, we can 
employ the left hand in opening doors, 
cutting bread, and so on. Occasionally left- 
handed games and matches would certainly 
vary the dulness of a season's Cricket — and 
this will apply equally to Lawn Tennis and 
other games. 

But at present we are too truly a stiff-legged 
people, slow to start ; as well as a one-sided 
people, not masters of our full forces. The 
reason for mental stupidity and atrophy 
must be partly physical. Brain- work alone 
— especially such as we are generally offered 
as intellectual '' education " — is little likely 
by itself to remove such national faults. 

A word may be said in conclusion, with 
reference not to '' educators '' but to teachers 
of Cricket. 

While teaching a beginner, let them insist 
on the essential elements of good play, and 
give the reason why those elements are 
essential. Why not flourish the bat ? Why 
not draw the right foot away to the leg-side ? 
The answers to such questions are most 
helpful, and are very likely to induce a 
player to correct mistakes when otherwise 



206 EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 



he might not be convinced that he was 
radically wrong or know how he was radi- 
cally wrong. 

The practice of part-by-part should be 
encouraged^ Mr. Edward Lyttelton's hints 
about bedroom exercise being constantly 
borne in mind. The movements should be 
explained and illustrated and performed by 
the teacher not only as complex wholes but 
also as simple parts. The teacher should 
say^ for example, '' Watch my left foot while 
I play forward. No ; stand behind me, 
and watch its line. Now watch my left 
elbow." He should at first work slowly. 
Comparisons and contrasts are among the 
best of helps. Compare cutting to peg-top 
whipping ; compare the left-foot lunge to 
the fencing lunge ; contrast the alertness of 
the fielder and (if he have Abel's activity) 
of the batsman with the fixed '' stance '' of 
the golfer, whose eye must not follow the 
ball's flight at once. 

Let the teacher urge the beginner to cor- 
rect his faults by exaggerating in the oppo- 
site direction : if the batsman's right leg in- 
clines to bend itself, let it be kept rigidly 
stiff, ridiculously straight. 

Individuality must not be crushed. But 



EXERCISES AND NOTES ON PRACTICE. 20/ 

it must not be fostered unless the player 
already has the necessary mechanisms of 
the various parts of play — batting and 
bowling — under control. The player must 
not hope to form his style out of a stock- 
in-trade consisting of less than half the mus- 
cular elements which practically every suc- 
cessful player possesses. The genius-player 
may safely be left to move along his own 
lines^ with occasional supervision. The 
duffer-player, like myself, must not be left 
to do so ; first he must learn to use those 
muscles, and especially those large muscles, 
which the best players use — for example, in 
forward-play, the full extension of right leg 
and left wrist. Then, if I may repeat the 
old metaphor, having mastered the spelling 
and the vocabulary, let him at length write 
his own writing ; having collected the bricks 
and mortar and wood, let him at length 
build his own building. 



208 



CHAPTER IX. 

FALLACIES OF THEORISTS AND OTHERS. 

It is safe to presume that every reader has 
read some one or more of the many writings on 
Cricket (from a penny upwards) ; that he has 
seen many good matches and many great 
amateur as well as professional experts ; 
that he has batted often^ fielded often, 
bowled at least once. So there need be no 
explanation of the game and its divisions ; 
the reader already knows pretty shrewdly 
the chief merits of batting, fielding, and bowl- 
ing, at least when he sees these merits. 
He rather needs to have fallacies exposed 
and faults explained. This chapter will clear 
the ground of rubbish after we have begun 
to sow advice upon it ; the ground must be 
cleared, even if it be necessary to pull down 
some old ruins surviving from fifty years 
ago. 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 209 

The first fallacy is about games in general, 
and about Cricket in particular as the grandest 
of them all. And here we must distinguish 
what our games are to some few, from what 
they can and should he to many if not to all. 
We shall claim much for them as the British 
nation claims much for itself — on the 
strength of its best examples, without ima- 
gining that the full advantages are universally, 
or even generally, realised. For the fallacy 
of many good players, that Cricket actually 
is all that can be claimed for ideal Cricket, 
rather than that it might and should be all 
this, is no less ridiculous. If, for example, 
the fielder stands careless and listless. Cricket 
becomes for him almost an exercise in non- 
promptitude ! The ball runs to the side of 
him, his lazy flop towards it is almost an 
exercise in non-extension as well. We must 
guard against all extreme statements as to 
what cricket is. It certainly is not an end 
in itself. Even all-round success in it is not 
an end in itself ; still less is success in some 
one branch only. But it is as well for all 
who play Cricket to remind themselves if 
not of the ideal yet of what is higher than 
their present actual. 

Cricket is not merely a muscle -maker, a 

14 



2IO FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 

sort of gymnastic drill which scarcely trains 
the nerves at all. To run out to a ball^ 
to stand up to a fast bowler and not draw 
away the right foot^ to field a hard drive, this 
means nerve. Nor is Cricket merely a physical 
health-maker or disease-palliator. To have 
practised and played it properly is quite 
impossible without some mental and moral 
exercise and health as well ; it is a social 
game of the best kind — it is a great bond of 
union. Far above brainless frivolity, farther 
above mere recreation, it can be a prepara- 
tion for the whole of life, even for business 
life ; for it can teach co-operation, special- 
isation, patience, observation, promptness, 
full extension, use of great weight and power 
without loss of poise. It can be valuable for 
all life, which mere muscle-straining without 
nerve-training, mere disease-avoidance, mere 
amusement, cannot possibly be. 

There are those who would not deny to 
Cricket some of these many merits, but they 
would say that Cricket can only be played 
properly by born players, that no others can 
ever play it well. To fielding this certainly 
does not apply : fielders can be trained ; 
so can batsmen, up to a certain point ; so — 
for all we know — can bowlers. I do not mean 



Fallacies of theorists. 211 

by the present absence of method, but by 
the use of sensible methods. 

For the common advice of the genius- 
players who are so often set to teach the game 
is httle hkely to make cricketers. '' Play 
in a natural way/' they say. This advice 
must be exposed, though it is insisted upon 
by some of the leading authorities. For 
Cricket is not a natural game. As Ranjit- 
sinhji aptly says, the natural tendency is 
to hit up and to pull to the on. In playing 
forward one does not naturally keep the bat 
straight and with its handle nearer to the 
bowler than its bottom is ; one does not 
naturally keep the right foot still, send the 
left elbow forward, and the bat near to the 
left foot. The instinct is against all this — 
for example, to keep the striking implement 
well away from one's body, as at Golf, Lawn 
Tennis, Tennis, Racquets, Squash, Fives, 
Hockey, and so on. Conversely, Mr. Lacey, 
the Secretary of the M.C.C., after having the 
Cricket-habit ingrained in him, found it 
hard at Tennis to get far enough away from 
the ball. And how can bowling be con- 
sidered '' natural '' for him whose fingers 
and back-muscles are practically un- 
developed ? So our answer to the teacher 

14* 



^12 t^ALLACIES Ol^ THEORISTS. 

who would say^ ^^ Choose the natural way 
of batting^ or of bowling, or of fielding/' is 
that this may be well enough if you already 
have control of the different parts of your 
batting, or bowhng, or fielding mechanism ; 
but that otherwise (and the chances other- 
wise are at least ten to one), the undeveloped 
muscles will probably be unused ; the work 
will be thrown on other muscles, and will 
be done either badly or with excessive effort. 
We should prefer to say this : '' Get control 
of the various muscles, as by the fast full- 
movement* system ; then get the founda- 
tions of play — the right foot as pivot, the 
left leg as straight lunger (for forward strokes), 
the straight bat with left elbow well forward, 
the habit of the eye on the ball, and so on ; 
then, if you like, by all means try different 
ways and styles, and choose what is natural 
to you ; but — unless you are a prodigy — 
do not be natural prematurely, or you will 
almost surely form bad habits/' 

That practice of this kind or indeed any 
sort of training will not be worth while, 
is a fallacy that has been exposed at the 
beginning of the chapter on Training. Even 
if Cricket led to nothing at all, training would 

^ Invented and taught by Macdonald Smith, of Steinway Hall. 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 213 

still be as useful as most things that we attend 
to. But Cricket can make one fitter for all- 
round activity, and proper practice and train- 
ing must make one fitter for Cricket — fitter in 
skill, fitter in endurance, fitter in every way. 

It is necessary to secure proper practice, 
not practice based on mere theory. Many 
theories are egregious fallacies. Let us con- 
sider a few of them on the art of batting. 

The first is that in forward play the bottom 
of the bat must never be sent forward be- 
yond the left foot.* In this, as in most 
theories, there are germs of truth, namely (a), 
that not many can stretch out much further 
than this without undue strain or loss of 
balance ; (b) that very few can get pace and 
power at all into the stroke beyond their left 
foot, and that therefore the above is a safe 
rule for the attacking drive ; (c) that the ball 
should usually be hit when the bat is not 
further forward than this. But the theory — 
which is repeated by most writers on the 

'^ The following quotation from a high authority is typical : — 

"The left foot precedes the advance of the bat, it being one of the 
first maxims of forward play that the bat must never be in front of the 
left foot. This rule is absolute. A neglect of it means that there is 
nothing to prevent the base of the bat being as near, or nearer, to the 
bowler than is the handle — no certainty, that is, against the ball 
being spooned into the air," 



214 FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 

game— utterly ignores one or two undoubted 
facts, (i.) First of all it seems a general princi- 
ple of ball-games that to ensure a straight line 
of stroke (and also to allow for too early a 
stroke), one must follow-through some way 
with the implement ; this is especially true 
of the ordinary forward stroke, which is 
usually played by faith as well as by sight ; 
(ii.) the defensive and '' safety '' forward- 
stroke (when it is distinct from the attack- 
ing drive) has as its first object to smother 
the ball, to get near to the pitch of it, before 
the break works out its fulness ; common 
sense would urge a player, if he could do so, 
to add an extra foot or so to his reach ; 
(iii.) both Shrewsbury and Abel (see the photo- 
graphs, which show them after the ball 
would have been hit) do actually reach far 
beyond the left foot. Who is to limit an 
Abel, if he has the litheness to add to his 
stretch those cubits which he cannot add 
to his stature ? The decision seems to be 
one for the individual. If he can stretch 
out thus without tilting up the bottom of 
his bat (and so lifting the ball), and without 
straining himself or tumbling over, then 
by all means let him do so, for he will 
crush the ball thus. But if he cannot, 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 21 5 

then let him do what he has been so often 
told to do. 

Similarly in Tennis I have been frequently told to keep the 
head of my racket above the level of my wrist for ordinary 
strokes. Latham does not ; Fennell does not ; Fairs does 
not ; Lambert did not ; Pettitt of course does not ; Charles 
Saunders, Alfred Tompkins, and Mr. Alfred Lyttelton do. 
I will not deny the beauty and grace and power of the 
so called '' correct " stroke ; but what I maintain is that 
most of us cannot afford the risk. We want to meet the 
ball as long as possible in its own line. We prefer safety 
and efficiency to risk and theory : as to grace, well, Latham 
and Fennell are quite good enough for me. 

It is often said that the secret of success- 
ful batting is the straight bat. There is a 
fallacy here ; the straight bat is important 
for many strokes^ but the straight moving 
line of the bat^ the direct line in which it 
meets the approaching ball^ this is important 
also ; and scarcely less important, for for- 
ward play, is the straight lunge of the left 
foot near the bottom of the bat. I would 
set this as a foundation of good forward 
play, since with the left foot goes much of the 
body's weight, and since otherwise there is 
a gap between bat and leg. 

A third and very grievous fallacy about 
batting is that the right foot must be kept 



2l6 FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 

still. Some have urged that it should be 
pegged down. Here also is a germ of truth. 
The right foot is the oK^o^/i?'/, the pivot ^ for 
most strokes^ the late cut excepted. And 
the line of the right foot, a line just outside 
the leg-stump, is usually to be kept to ; 
that foot must not be drawn away cowardly 
towards short leg. But as a universal law 
'' the unmoved right foot '' is a mistake. Even 
in forward play it often tends to drag slightly 
(it must not drag over the crease), and the 
heel may rise from the ground. More obvious 
exceptions are when a batsman runs out 
(as Abel is doing in one illustration), or jumps 
out (as Shrewsbury is doing in another). 
Why should we fetter active-footed boys 
or men by restrictions that apply well enough 
to staid men with a long reach. '' Play with 
the feet,'' says Abel to all who have feet to 
play with. If I can take the sting off a 
Racquet service by four or five steps forward, 
which will make it a volley or half-volley, 
why not ? This is not rash : it is frequently 
defensive. I dare not wait ! For the late 
cut, again, I believe every player moves his 
right foot across. For the glide I believe 
every player moves his right foot back, 
not a few move their right foot across also. 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 2\J 

For the pull of a short ball, the right leg, 
as in the illustration of Hirst, may go well 
across. For playing back I observe that 
nearly every good player, including W. G. 
Grace (see the photograph of him in Ranjit- 
sinhji's book), does move his right foot more 
or less towards his own wicket ; this gives 
an extra fraction of time in which to watch 
the short ball and its break or rise. More- 
over, the retiring of the right foot does 
actually prepare for the back play. 

A fourth batting fallacy is that the late 
cut is with the wrist only. One writer after 
another repeats this in the face of the practice 
of nine late-cutters out of every ten whom I 
have ever seen. Here once more is a germ of 
truth, that the wrist is often a sine qua non. 
But few could get much power with the wrist 
alone. As a proof, keep your whole body 
stiff except your wrist, and then try to cut. 
Is that how most experts play ? Or imitate 
their exact stroke for half an hour, and see if 
you do not ache in your forearm and perhaps 
your shoulder too. Or strip, and watch your 
muscles in a mirror. We do really want 
nude photographs for these strokes. Even 
Shrewsbury uses much besides his wrist. 
Some wrist there is, though there need not 



2l8 FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 

be here any more than when one shakes out 
a clotted stylographic pen. In the average 
late cut the body moves a bit to put in some 
weight ; the back muscles under the arm- 
pits (latissimus dorsi) do some work ; the 
shoulder jerks a little or a lot ; the forearm 
jerks powerfully ; some players add force 
by the stepping of the right foot and the 
straightening of the left leg ; some — these 
are probably few — keep an almost or quite 
rigid wrist. Plenty of strength and pace 
will come from the other muscle-groups. In 
fact, for the ordinary beginner I should urge 
a reliance upon the large muscles in par- 
ticular, lest the big bat shall nearly wield 
the boy as the big tail nearly waggled the 
dog. 

A similar fallacy exists in Racquets. It is supposed that 
Pettitt relies almost entirely on his wrist-flick; and this 
certainly has an astounding force. But with it there almost 
invariably go a fore arm-jerk and a shoulder-jerk. Latham's 
Racquet-stroke largely depends on these two factors as well 
as on the wrist-flick. 

That the pull is a bad stroke is a dying 
fallacy. It is not a bad stroke so long as it 
is a safe stroke. At times it appears to me 
to be the safest stroke, if only because it 



FALLACIES OF TIIEORLSTS. 219 

meets the ball nearly in its own line and^ 
as Shrewsbury says, need not send the 
ball near any fielder ; the bottom of the 
bat may rise, and thus an extra foot or 
so may be given to the reach. The pull is 
chiefly bad if tried with the wrong ball, 
especially a fast and straight ball, or if tried 
in the wrong way — for example, without the 
lunge forward of the left foot as in the photo- 
graph of Abel (that one may get near the 
pitch of the ball), or the backward step of 
the right foot, as in the photographs of 
Hirst and Shrewsbury (that one may see 
more of the way of the ball) ; or if tried by 
the wrong man — a man with no eye. 

x\nother dying fallacy is that to run out 
is a mark of rashness. I have already com- 
pared the steps forward in order to take a 
heavily-cut Racquet service ; in Tennis also 
we have a similar safety or killing stroke ; and 
in Lawn Tennis the player who comes up to 
the net to volley is not necessarily rash. The 
safest stroke in the whole game is the ordinary 
full-pitch ; next to it comes the ordinary 
long-hop ; next to it the ball that allows 
one to get well to the pitch of it. The safety- 
player can often secure either the first or 
the third by an apparently mad jump 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 



out of his ground. As a foreigner once said, 
'' When you've got a good boxer against 
you, it's wisest to hit him before he's ready." 

Leaving the time-honoured but misguided 
advice about batting, let us turn to the 
mistakes about bowhng. Here we have the 
fatal opinion that, unless the bowler who has 
found an easy swing bowls well, he is no^t 
likely ever to become a good bowler at all. 
I should rather forbid any player to despair 
until he has mastered first the mechanism of 
bowling by fast full movements and exten- 
sions ; till then perhaps he has failed because he 
has not fairly used the back-muscles under the 
arm-pits (how they ache after a day of bowl- 
ing), the shoulder-jerk, the wrist-movements, 
the finger-movements — especially those of 
the first finger. It is great folly not to be 
controller of these parts of the bowling- 
apparatus before one has decided either on 
one's individual action or on one's incapacity 
to bowl. 

Similarly, in fielding. Cricket suffers from 
many ignorances and negligences. Not 
only is there the general idea that fielding 
is unimportant compared with batting and 
bowling, but it is assumed that it can be got 
through somehow without practice or ap- 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 221 

prenticeship. The mere art of patient yet 
expectant waiting for an opportunity is 
in itself almost as difficult to acquire as it is 
worth acquiring. Mere safety in stopping 
balls, or even in catching balls, is often con- 
sidered the acme of excellence, whereas the 
anticipation is not less essential. Here also, 
as in bowling, a boy or man is wont to adopt 
a (?) style without having first learnt and, 
as it were, infibred within him the A B C of 
success and enjoyment ; to start hither or 
thither in a moment, to make a full stretch 
hither or thither, to keep the balance, to 
throw in at once and accurately— not one 
player in a hundred has gone through his 
apprenticeship. 

Or, if a boy or man does field reasonably 
well in one place, he is contented. He does 
not aim at being able to field passably in other 
places. As to wicket-keeping, that he never 
dreams of. And yet how else is he likely to 
learn to field at short slip, or to take balls 
when he has bowled ? 

Then there is the watching — how dull it 
appears to the members of the batting side 
who are out or not yet in ! Many would 
actually rather be fielding — and what more 
need be said ? Yet here is another miscon- 



222 FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 

ception. Watch the play, as Shrewsbury 
does, or watch it part by part, with a view 
of getting hints as to what to avoid and what 
to practise, and you henceforth find the in- 
ahenable interest. 

This failure to watch the play part by 
part — say the batsman's feet first, then his 
bat, and so on — finds its parallel in practice, 
which is seldom part by part. People play 
in matches, in practice-games, at the nets ; 
but it is always with full implements. Is it not 
great stupidity to imagine that the game 
itself is the best practice for strokes ? The 
very variety militates against the mastery 
of any one thing par excellence. Were it 
not better sometimes to play stump-cricket 
or '' snob-cricket '' — an india-rubber ball can 
be used ; to practise jumping with preserva- 
tion of balance (see Shrewsbury); sideway 
running (see Abel) ; straight-forward lunges 
with balance and rapid recovery, with right 
foot scarcely moving, with right leg unbent ; or 
left foot lunges alone, then the bat lunges as 
well ; to throw a Lawn Tennis ball up against 
a wall and on its recoil play it with a straight 
bat and prominent left elbow ; to go through 
the action of cutting, and cut-driving ; to 
do wrist-movements ; to imitate the whip- 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 223 

ping of a peg-top ; to start quickly in every 
direction in turn ; to shift the weight ; to 
extend the arms up^ down^ to the sides ; 
to pick up and throw a real ball (or 
an imaginary ball^ in a bedroom) ; to hold 
one's hands for a catch here or there, 
whether of an imaginary ball or of one thrown 
or hit off a wall ; to develop the left side ; 
and so on ? Is it not the most grievous and 
fatal fallacy to rely on and to urge others 
to rely on nothing but practice at the nets 
or the game itself, even if these are indis- 
pensable ? 

I have already exposed the fallacy* that 
to practise part by part is necessarily to 
produce a jerky and disjointed stroke ; at 
first it may do so, but eventually the parts 
will easily combine into a unity, if we do them 
rightly. My own Tennis and Racquet strokes 
are no longer jerky and disjointed, but once 
they were so. Use has fused the parts into 
a whole. 

Quite apart from success and enjoyment 
in Cricket, the game demands these and many 
other exercises, not only as apprenticeship, 



* *' If the batsman cuts up the action of the stroke into separate parts, 
something must be sacrificed : either the weight is not brought to bear 
on the ball, or balance is lost. The result is an emasculated stroke." 



k 



FALLACIES OF THEORISTS. 



and as corrective of faults, but also as supple- 
mentary. For the last fallacy which we 
expose is that Cricket as played at present 
is at all a complete exercise for the body. 
A few reforms will be suggested in a sub- 
sequent chapter. 



225 



CHAPTER X. 

MERITS OF CRICKET. 

Cricket as she is played does not bear one 
tithe of her possible fruits ; the soil is 
not properly prepared for her ; she is left 
to grow anyhow. This is a sad error, if 
only because she is not a natural game — a 
game of natural movements. What more 
unnatural is there for most of us than to play 
forward correctly ? The same applies to 
most games, for example to Lawn Tennis. 
Here we must consider the advantages of 
Cricket not as the practice and play now 
are, but as they easily might he, if all-round 
Cricket were well prepared for and taught, 
well practised and played ; learnt and cul- 
tivated with science, not haphazardly ; in 
moderation, not too little, not too much ; 
with conscious care at the start, until con- 

15 



t^ 



226 MERITS OF CRICKET. 



scious correct care has begotten sub-con- 
sciously correct ease. 

The first advantage of the game^ as it 
should be, is economy. If it only saves 
doctors' and druggists' bills, it is worth its 
cost in time and money. Professionals earn 
a healthy living by Cricket. Many school- 
masters, many clerks and partners, owe their 
position largely to their Cricket. This is 
but common sense. To play Cricket well is 
at least as good a qualification as to know 
well the names and dates of many prophets, 
kings, battles, and other dull trivialities. 

For Cricket should develop the intellect.. 
Quite apart from the effect of bodily health 
and activity upon brain-work, quite apart 
from the tonic of recreation and change of 
employment. Cricket should give lessons for 
life : it should teach co-operation, division 
of labour, encouragement of individuality ; 
it should teach the art of mastering the 
mechanisms, the A B C, so indispensable 
to success ; it should foster observation, 
rapid decision, then rapid action, judgment 
by results, memory, foresight. It should^ 
though it seldom does. This intellectual 
aspect of Cricket is of national importance. 
We need intelligent leaders and workers : 



MERITS OF CRICKET. 22/ 

Cricket might easily be made to produce them. 
We need such in war as in peace : as Ranjit- 
sinhji insists, ''after all, Cricket is warfare 
in miniature. It is man against man, general 
against general/' and, we may add, team 
against team. 

To pass from the intellectual to the physical 
advantages which are so closely connected 
with them, Mr. Edward Lyttelton says : 

''It is impossible to make twenty runs in 
decent style without giving evidence of 
bodily pluck, readiness of resource, patience, 
health, strength and training." But here 
again we must distinguish what is from what 
might and should be. Cricket should en- 
courage general health and training, general 
fitness (most excellent word), the power to 
preserve life, not only by its exercise and 
physical virtues, but also by the movements 
of muscles, by the air, light, scenery, subse- 
quent washing, which can all improve the 
well-being, not completely yet conspicuously. 

The enjoyment — if only we were better 
trained to enjoy the game — must affect the 
blood in the most favourable way, as the 
chemical experiments of Professor Gates, 
of Washington, have demonstrated, in the 
American "Medical Times'' for December, 

15* 



228 MERITS OF CRICKET. 

1897. We thank God better by genuine en- 
joyment than by mere word of mouth. 

The word '' aesthetic " is used in two senses 
— in reference to enjoyment, and in reference 
to artistic beauty and gracefulness. Cricket 
should be an '' aesthetic '' game in both 
senses. When properly prepared for and 
played and supplemented, it should produce 
a body pleasant to behold whether in motion 
or at rest — a '' kinetic '' and '' dynamic " 
and '' static '' pleasantness to the eye. The 
senses also should have their interesting 
growth by Cricket ; the sight by the timing 
and by the use of the imagination ; the hear- 
ing ; the touch ; the muscular sense. 

Of the moral and spiritual effects we need 
not say much. It seems to me to be here 
that Cricket does do much that it should 
do. Honour, sympathy and courtesy, pluck, 
patience, good temper, these are a few of the 
qualities that do often result. 

Clearest of all, however, is the social value 
as a tie and connecting link between indi- 
viduals and groups both small and great. 
Rudyard Kipling, with all his genius for 
seeing and describing things imperial, scarcely 
realised the function of Cricket as a common 
ground for meeting and forming friendships, 



MERITS OF CRICKET. 229 

quite aside from its advantages in opening 
the mind by journeys among near or distant 
people. What Ranjitsinhji so aptly remarks 
in reference to the classes within England 
herself can be applied also to the relation 
between any sets of people anywhere. He 
says : 

''It is a grand thing for people who have 
to work most of their time to have an interest 
in something or other outside their particular 
groove. Cricket is a first-rate interest. The 
game has developed to such a pitch that it 
is worth taking interest in. Go to Lord's 
and analyse the crowd. There are all sorts 
and conditions of men there around the ropes 
— bricklayers, bank-clerks, soldiers, postmen, 
and stockbrokers. And in the pavilion are 
K.C.'s, artists, archdeacons, and leader- 
writers. Bad men, good men, workers and 
idlers are all there, and all at one in their 
keenness over the game. It is a common- 
place that cricket brings the most opposite 
characters and the most diverse lives together. 
Anything that puts many very different 
kinds of people on a common ground must 
promote sympathy and kindly feelings. The 
workman does not come away from seeing 



230 MERITS OF CRICKET. 



Middlesex beating Lancashire or vice versa 
with evil in his heart against the Upper Ten ; 
nor the Mayfair homme de plaisir with a 
feeling of contempt for the street-bred masses. 
Both alike are thinking how well Mold bowled^ 
and how cleanly Stoddart despatched Briggs' 
high-tossed slow ball over the awning/' 

This is pre-eminently true. Cricket al- 
ready is, and can be to an even greater extent, 
a healthy interest that is a grand bond of 
union for the nation, and yet not (like so 
many religious, commercial, educational, and 
other bonds) a frequent cause of separation 
from other nations. 

What is Cricket to you ? That is a very 
different question from '' What might, can, 
should Cricket be to you ? '' We have an- 
swered part of the latter question. Before 
answering the former let us take some con- 
trasts. What already exists that can be 
compared to Cricket in regard to effects ? 
Gymnastics, strength - and - strain - exercises ; 
card-games, other games (Lawn Tennis, Ping- 
Pong, Golf, etc.); '' economicar' education 
— where is any teaching about such lessons 
as co-operation to be found in England ? It 
is to be found in America, but with it is also 



MERITS OF CRICKET. 23 1 

to be found the terrible money-grubbing 
and grabbing spirit ; '' intellectual '' educa- 
tion — sum up the useful results of what one 
has learnt in school : nine-tenths of it I pray 
that I may forget ; physical and hygienic 
education — where is it ? Not at home, not 
at school, not in business, not in society ; 
in Cricket there is quite a supply of such 
education, mainly of an unconscious kind ; 
enjoyment, gracefulness, pure and wholesome 
cultivation of the senses — where are they ? 
Education about pure and wholesome and 
kindly social and national relations — where 
is it ? Even moral and spiritual education 
by preaching and teaching. Compare and 
contrast these and other means of education 
for physique, for character, for life, with 
Cricket as she is, and then with Cricket as 
she might and should be. Judge the ad- 
vantages of Cricket for yourself as an indi- 
vidual and as a member of many groups. 

The present advantages of Cricket would 
be increased ten-fold if more care were taken 
by those in authority. Cricket needs greater 
interest and attractiveness for the majority 
of players ; it needs better basic preparation 
for all departments of play ; it needs supple- 
mentation by other exercises and other 



232 MERITS OF CRICKET. 

means to health. By itself it is not^ never 
will be^ never can be^ a complete education. 
Of course not. But properly cultivated^ 
with other things^ in its proper place, it 
seems to me splendid. If it seems so to the 
reader, then let him give it a care, let him 
cultivate it, in proportion to its all-round 
value in his eyes. 



233 



CHAPTER XL 

SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

As with other games hke Tennis and Racquets^ 
SO with Cricket, we may assume that the 
game as now played is excellent for experts 
who either have wealth and leisure or else are 
professionals. For those, and for others at 
intervals, let the play be nearly as it now 
is. Let the best go on. Let there be test- 
matches, county and Varsity matches, college 
and school matches, house and dormitory 
matches, and so on. Here we deal chiefly 
with reforms outside these decisive games 
which are likely to remain as they are. 

With those who are not experts of the 
classes mentioned above, the play cries for 
adaptation. First of all, there is need for 
snob-cricket, stump-cricket, room-cricket (not 
mere bedroom practice, but an actual game), 
as a more regular and more enjoyable substi- 



234 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

tute. Secondly, there is need for prepara- 
tion ; Cricket has been described as a trinity 
of games, and the stump-practice suggested 
in a previous chapter can serve as a prepara- 
tion for fielding. The exercises offered in 
other chapters would serve as substitutes 
and also as preparation for play when play 
itself was out of the question. Cricket is a. 
river that needs a good source and many 
good tributary-streams ; it needs prepara- 
tory exercises and games. Such practice 
would soon make the play itself far more 
pleasant and interesting. Thirdly, there is 
need of supplementation — for example, left- 
handed play, the use of the left side being 
important, not merely in fielding (what 
crocks most people are with their left 
hands !), but in change-bowling also. Why 
should not more players be able to bowl an 
over or two left-handed for a change ? 

Besides this, there is need of cheapness — 
of economy of money and of time as well, 
so that each player may get more work to 
do and less dull waiting. 

Above all, there is need of some '' fun for 
the duffers,'' if the game is to spread or even 
to hold its own. We are rapidly becoming 
Americanised. No longer do the majority 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. 235 

care to serve merely as watchers, or at the 
best as ninepins to a Hirst or a Rhodes, as 
feeders and throwers-in for an Abel, a 
Shrewsbury, a Fry, or a Ranji. They want 
to be up and doing and enjoying them- 
selves, or else they will give up the so-called 
play in disgust ; it isn't play. That is their 
true complaint. 

And so we say, let the best players and 
the other players at intervals have their 
matches and games and net-practice as be- 
fore, with any changes that may be accepted 
(such as those which will be touched on 
directly). But let there be something to 
give pleasure to the average person, whether 
it be an occasional game of tip-and-run, or 
an occasional game with some sort of a 
handicap. 

What the handicap shall be, whether more 
men in the field, or both sides fielding, or 
fewer men on the stronger side, or smaller 
bats, or larger wickets, or a time-limit, must 
be left to the players themselves to decide. 
Only, one could wish for a more democratic 
and representative vote instead of the whole 
management being left to the few experts or 
'' aristocrats,'' who, of course, will legislate 
from their own point of view. 



236 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 



The reforms suggested by so many writers 
do not really deal with the masses of 
cricketers at all. The time-limit for the in- 
nings (it might be annulled in case of a diffi- 
cult wicket), the running out of boundary 
hits, the declaring of the innings closed at 
any moment, the innings of sections of sides 
at a time — these things do not tend to make 
Dick, Tom, and Harry really enjoy them- 
selves or improve their play appreciably 
more than at present. 

As contrasted with short games of stump- 
cricket (to encourage accuracy of batting 
and to develop new bowlers), and with the 
building of clubs having plain rooms for 
evening games, such reforms are trifling 
except for the very few who play well. It 
would be far better to tell people how to 
field, or even how to watch with a view to 
interest and improvement. Reforms must 
aim at giving amusement, interest, at- 
tractiveness to the play of the average 
cricketer. 

Let us consider a common experience in 
a one-day College match at Cambridge, put- 
ting aside the wet or rather the difficult 
wicket on which every player gets a knock ; 
we want to think of Cricket at its best — on a 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. 237 

fine day and a good wicket. The side that 
wins the toss sends in its first two or three 
bats ; they pile up some hundreds of runs ; 
the other members sit and do nothing ; the 
captain eventually declares ; the opposing 
side, after its hours of '' country life/' has 
no chance of winning, so the players either 
stick and try to play out time, or else make 
a desperate attempt and slog at everything 
like a set of Jessops, but unskilled. No 
wonder there is apathy. 

We begin by pointing out what appears 
at first to be the most ridiculous change ; 
yet it is certain that when the tail of a team 
does go in, then it wants to enjoy itself for 
more than a few brief seconds. If the cap- 
tain will not every now and then absolutely 
reverse the order of going in (at least at 
the end of a day's scouting), then let the tail 
improve its own batting. The improvement 
rests with the members themselves. Let 
them begin practice on any level piece of 
ground, with a soft ball and a stick (to 
emphasise the importance of the straight 
bat) ; or let them in private (if not in a new 
form of drill) lunge with the left foot, stretch 
straight forward with the head and left-wrist 
and elbow, move the right foot across and cut 



238 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

with shoulder, forearm, and wrist, repeat 
the body-swing, and so on. The drill could 
be made less dull if one individual '' set " 
the exercises to the rest, at first simple move- 
ments, then more complex movements with 
varied pace. Let the players give them- 
selves the best possible chance of a reason- 
ably long innings when they do go in. Let 
them make runs somehow,* not neglecting 
the safest kind of pull, for example, merely 
because it is called ''bad style." 

More important than attention to batting 
is attention to bowling. We need not allow 
a ''free margin'' to bowlers of doubtful 
action ; there are other remedies. Why 
should not people learn to make the ball 
curl in the air, starting their experiments 
with a Lawn Tennis ball, which gives more 
marked effects. That which is done habitu- 
ally by Baseball throwers, and occasionally 
if unintentionally by a few bowlers, can 
surely be done frequently and intentionally 

''^ Most authorities are agreed here, as these typical quotations will 
show : — 

** It ought to be the aim of all advice in batting to help a young 
player to get runs, quocunque modo runs, otherwise he will not learn 
the game." 

*'Many a devotee has been lured into less noble pursuits simply 
because he cannot score," 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. 239 

by many bowlers^ if only there be careful 
and thorough research. But anyhow let the 
breaks be learnt ; let the first finger and the 
wrist be trained to strong movements of 
various kinds. Let the young players be 
given small bats and balls to play with. 
Let them and older players be given an 
over now and then for a change in less im- 
portant games. Certainly let the various 
mechanisms of bowling be mastered before 
a player decides that he has not the gift of 
bowling ; let him do arm-and-shoulder ex- 
tensions (see the photographs of Hirst)^ wrist- 
turns^ and so on ; and then (as suggested 
above)^ practise with a stump, a wicket- 
keeper, and another bowler on the other 
side of the stump ; let each have his little 
paper-marks on the ground, and let him 
pitch the ball as near as he can to these. 
Let every would-be bowler, that is to say 
every cricketer, try to bowl round the 
wicket, if only in the old style with the 
low delivery (like W. G.'s, as described by 
Mr. A. G. Steel). Or let him try his luck 
with lobs, if only that he may learn how to 
make the ball break both ways. Let him 
see if he cannot bowl a little with his left- 
hand — who knows ? We must raise the 



240 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

number of bowlers as well as the standard of 
bowling. On that point all are agreed.* 

Perhaps at the same time the power of 
the batsman might be lessened,! either by 
a number-limit or a time-limit to the innings, 
or by a smaller bat (narrower and thicker), 
or by a larger wicket (higher or broader, or 
both — at the moment when I write this, the 
suggested change has not been accepted by 
all — ), or, better still, by the following plan. 
On a caking wicket we do not need to shorten 
the batsman's innings, except to put a stop 
to excessive poking. The ground takes what- 
ever break is put on (and perhaps adds some 
of its own). Why should there not be an 
artificial material which would take a good 
deal of break and not be dangerous. The 
M.C.C. out of its abundance might offer a 
reward (say of ;^ioo) to the inventor of 
some material, which need not extend over 
more than a small area. We want a floor 

* "Any reform of cricket law has for its object a levelling up of 
attack and defence — in other words, of batting and bowling." — 
Haddon Hall Library. 

t Mr. W. J. Ford is against this. He says : — 

" The grace and the skill of batting is so attractive to the eye and 
so delightful to the batsman himself that, pace various wise authorities, 
batting must be regarded as the chief factor in the game. Cramp 
batting, and the game will be spoiled." 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. •. 24 1 

that will show just what twist or spin has 
been given to the ball^ so that inferior bats- 
men shall not now make their centuries 
merely because the ball will not '' bite/' In 
Racquets, Tennis, covered-court Lawn Tennis, 
and Ping-Pong, the ball performs practically 
whatever antics it ought to perform. We 
want a pitch that will carry out the bowler's 
work without adding or subtracting much. 
Neither a plumb wicket nor a caking wicket 
does that. We need some such material as 
Mr. W. J. Ford suggests, perhaps a kind 
akin to cokernut matting. 

The proposed leg-before-wicket reform by 
which the batsman is given out if, in the 
opinion of the umpire, the ball would have 
struck his wicket (rather than if the ball 
pitches in a line between the wickets, which 
militates against the old round-arm bowling 
round the wicket), may or may not prove ad- 
visable. It is not a really radical reform. 

But far the best change, the most potent, 
and in every way most profitable to all, to 
the bowler, the wicket-keep, the fielder, the 
spectator, and even ultimately to the bats- 
man, would be an improvement in fielding. 
Some time ago one of the greatest of all 
cover-points past or present remarked to a 

16 



242 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

friend of his, '' If you and I were there, that 
side would have been out by now.'' With 
this man at cover, the batsman was never 
let off at cover. With a team of such fielders, 
the game would be quite altered. A century 
would then mean something. As it is, a 
player is said to have given no chances 
when with a field full of Vernon Royles* he 
would have given several chances of being 
caught, and many chances of being run out. 
But how can fielding be improved ? 

Why are there so few prizes for fielding ? 
Why in athletic sports is there a prize only 
for distance-throwing, and not for regulated 
direction or regulated pitch ? Here is a 
great opening for schools, and especially to- 
day when, as Abel said, stone-throwing in 
cities is sadly discouraged ! The beach of 
the sea-side is not always accessible. Be- 
sides this, it is good to practise catching and 
fielding with a soft ball against a wall ; 
various games of catching and fielding can 
be made exciting enough ; the stump-game 
(suggested in another chapter) can be adapted 
to throwing as well as to bowling ; points 
may be counted. Excellent exercise can 
thus be had at odd moments. Or Fives and 

* Quaife and Jessop are the best modern types of alert anticipation. 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. 243 

left-handed Squash will develop the left side, 
and prizes for left-hand throwing may be 
offered by schools. Boxing is capital in 
its effects on alertness and '' eye/' There 
should be boxing by all means. 

And let there be training in general — for 
how can one field well unless he be fresh and 
untired ? Let there be full control of arms 
and legs and body without loss of balance, 
full quick stretchings, full and quick stoop- 
ings, in all directions ; let there be — we 
repeat — plenty of Fives for the left side and 
for stooping ; diving and swimming for 
endurance ; and the fast extension-move- 
ments, at the end of which the extensions 
should be held for a moment or two. 

This implies careful analysis of the me- 
chanisms of fielding — of starting, of catching, 
of picking up, of throwing in. It implies a 
system or systems based on this analysis. It 
implies careful study. But if Cricket be a 
desirable game, above all if it be compulsory, 
then it must be taught well, especially at 
the outset. As Murdoch says : ''A good 
ground- work must be laid down, and the 
young beginner cannot be too painstaking 
and careful.'' The drill must not be in all 
the refinements of Cricket, such as the Ranji- 

16* 



244 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

glide ; it must be in that A B C of field- 
ing, etc., which no really great fielder has 
lacked. That which is not by nature must 
come by art. Some drill there must be, 
even if it only be self -drill. But drill itself 
will do a boy no harm to-day. A veteran 
cricketer, in his time an excellent field and 
now a superintendent of a boys' institution, 
tells me on the one hand of the inferiority 
of fielding to-day, and on the other hand of 
the lack of persistent concentration among 
boys to-day. Boys, he says, lack that 
power, and drill can give it to them so that 
it* lasts through life. 

Reform in Cricket must not be merely 
reform for a few match-players. Apart from 
increased power of sustained self-control, of 
imimediate self-direction, apart from confi- 
dence and readiness, it must be for the greater 
enjoyment and greater skill of the majority 
of British boys and men. With this end in 
view, we may have to adapt Cricket to in- 
door play in well-lighted and well-ventilated 
rooms in cities and suburbs (in America the 
city-clubs, built storey upon storey upwards, 
allow of other games by electric light). Any 
old room would do. We do not want only 
this adapted game, any more than we want 



SUGGESTED REFORMS. 245 

only drill and practice ; we want net-play 
also ; practice-games also ; matches also. 
But we want the game itself, the grand old 
game, when it is played, to be played better 
and to be played better all round, in all its 
branches, by all its players. 

When we come to look at the matter im- 
partially, and to ask what Cricket might and 
should do for us physically, aesthetically, 
mentally, morally, as individuals, as groups, 
as a nation ; when we come to compare its 
effects — even as they now are — with those 
of our school-lessons in Latin grammar, 
geography, history, arithmetic, and so on, 
we do not hesitate to say that Government 
support is needed, not only in establishing 
such clubs, for evening and wet-day play 
within cities, but also for allowing Cricket — 
the trinity of Cricket, batting and bowling 
and fielding, and perhaps the theory of 
Cricket also — to count something in certain 
Government examinations, especially in those 
for the Indian Civil Service. For is it not 
of more value than many crammings ? 

Let Cricket be given its proper place — no 
higher, no lower. It is an amusement ; true. 
But it is also an education for character and 
life. It might be ten times the education 



246 SUGGESTED REFORMS. 

that it is^ for almost the whole of character 
and life. Sensible reforms would make it so 
— reforms which would in no way interfere 
with Cricket as it is now played in important 
matches, and as it is now practised in prac- 
tice-games and at nets. The reforms would 
prepare for these excellent occasions, and 
would also serve as substitutes for them and 
as supplements to them, and would thus bring 
in many converts to the game, bring back 
many renegades, and enable Cricket to hold 
her own against all her rivals, especially 
against excessive Cycling, Golf, Croquet, 
Ping-Pong, idleness, the public-house, and 
that evil for which at present there exists 
no other name but smuggishness. 



APPENDICES 



249 



APPENDIX I. 

THE editor's defence OF THIS SYSTEM FOR 
BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 

" The truth must be insisted on ; many a Cricket match 
has been won in the bedroom. And even with the ball a 
good deal may be done. I could name two eminent 
batsmen who used, as boys, to wait after the day's play 
was over, and the careless crowd had departed, and in the 
pavilion give ten minutes or a quarter of an hour to 
practising a particular style of defence, about which more 
anon ; the one bowled fast sneaks along the floor to the 
other, at about ten paces distance. This, too, yielded fruit 
in its time. Like all other great achievements, the getting 
a score against good bowling is the result of drudgery, 
patiently, faithfully borne. But the drudgery of Cricket is 
itself a pleasure, and let no young cricketer suppose that 
he can dispense with it, though some few gifted performers 
have done great things with apparently little effort." 

Edward Lyttelton. 

I have reserved for an appendix, which I 
introduce by repeating the above words of 



250 EDITORS DEFENCE OF 

sound common sense, a defence of a system 
of practice based on what the best players 
actually do. The system will be condemned 
unless it is understood — and tried. 

In games, as in health, it is the commonest 
acts and parts of acts that most easily escape 
our notice — that are done least adequately. 
He who is far beyond and above the alphabet 
can seldom realise its difficulties for the 
beginner. The unconscious skill of the ex- 
pert availeth little, except for analysis and 
imitation by others. The genius is not likely 
to be a good teacher. That is no less true of 
Cricket than of mathematics. The natural 
player does the thing well, but — he knoweth 
not how. 

A story is told of one of the most famous 
of Cambridge coaches (alas ! now dead), to 
the effect that a pupil once asked him for 
lessons in Hebrew. The coach knew no 
Hebrew, but, thanks to his excellent teaching, 
he managed to secure his pupil a Second Class 
in the examination, after which the pupil 
heard to his surprise that the coach himself 
had only been one Jesson ahead all the time. 
So here the veriest beginner may feel that I 
am^ not far ahead of him — that perhaps in 
some respects I am behind him, since I have 



SYSTEM FOR BECxINNERS AND OTHERS. 25 1 

to undo many old and habitual faults. Let 
him imagine me^ at the age of thirty-four, 
in the midst of a busy life, playing forward 
vigorously in the privacy of my small bed- 
room, first with my left foot (with the body- 
weight) direct along a line again and again, 
till it moves along that line rapidly almost 
of its own accord, with only an occasional 
supervision as of a well-regulated servant ; 
then this together with the quick reaching 
out of a straight bat in dangerous proximity 
to my left foot (which now lunges safely, 
surely, rapidly on its line), while my left 
elbow comes well to the front at full stretch. 
In fact, let him picture me practising for 
a few minutes morning after morning, with 
ever-decreasing difficulty, all that the best 
exponents seem to do so naturally and 
easily. He would see me ready to start 
and starting at hundred yards' pace here 
there or anywhere, as Mr. Vernon Royle 
used to stand and start at cover ; or extend- 
ing now this arm, and now that, up, down, 
out to imaginary balls, and then throwing 
these in at once just above imaginary 
bails (which will be spots on the wall- 
paper). 

''It is not thus that Cricket is learnt,'' 



252 editor's defence of 

I hear the genius say. Yet it was thus — 
partly thus — that my Racquets and Tennis 
were learnt, and I for my part shall try to 
learn Cricket thus also ; and I shall advise 
others who are as backward as I am to try thus. 
If the plan be wrong, yet at least I am put- 
ting it into action in my own case, so as to 
make as much a part of me as I can those 
movements that seem always to have been 
a part of the born experts, who are my 
models, and whose expertness has hitherto 
been regarded as beyond hope. I do not 
mean fancy strokes, such as the risky glide, 
but the ordinary and common strokes, the 
'' nine out of ten,'' for which the many 
mechanical workings are buried so securely 
deep in the sub-conscious minds of the skil- 
ful, that there is needed a thorough probing 
and cutting up by the anatomist if ever the 
secrets are to be laid bare. 

There must be no reliance on mere 
theories ; actual models and photographs 
of models have been and are to be the basis 
of my advice and of my own steady practice. 
Photographs are less likely to err than the 
opinions of those whose chief merit is to 
do well rather than to teach well or even 
to know well. 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 253 

But^ though the most careful analysis has 
been made^ and though I myself shall do 
whatever I urge the beginner to try, yet the 
advice will all be put forward as worth a fair 
trial — no more, at least for purposes of Cricket. 
For purposes of physical development, health, 
control of the body and of the will, and so 
on, I think that every such exercise can 
safely be recommended to most people. I 
cannot believe that a few minutes each day 
would do any Anglo-Saxon boy or man any 
appreciable harm, if only the rapidity 
and extension be increased gently and sen- 
sibly. 

My point of view is entirely new. I come 
to the reader not as a good batsman, bowler, 
or fielder. I was what may be called a 
Public School and College cricketer, and poor 
at that ! In my last season of College Cricket 
I made one or two centuries and got well over 
my hundred wickets ; but all this I did in 
the most atrocious style. And I gave up 
the game many years ago. Why then do I 
dare to offer hints ? 

Let me repeat that, as a player of Racquets 
and Tennis, in spite of much play, I still 
used to exhibit practically every serious fault 
except a bad eye, weakness, and indifference 



254 editor's defence OP"^ 

to success. As I have confessed or boasted 
elsewhere^ and as anyone who saw me would 
confirm, the positions and movements of 
my feet, l^gs^ trunk, shoulder, arm, wrist, and 
fingers were incorrect ; and I used to let 
my eye wander from the ball. These faults 
I found out ; and I afterwards found out that 
my faults in Cricket were closely akin to 
these. Now comes the interesting argu- 
ment. I taught myself and am teaching 
myself what is less incorrect. I practised 
and am practising sedulously, to a great 
extent outside the court, and especially in my 
bedroom. I chose good models in Racquets 
and Tennis — for example, Latham and Fairs ; 
I analysed their strokes, watching part by 
part, asking questions, accepting kind advice, 
listening to sane or mad theory. I tried 
to master each part of the mechanism, at 
first by itself, then with other parts, at 
times repeating with concentration, at times 
exaggerating the opposite fault. There 
cannot be the slightest doubt that I am 
mastering the mechanism of these racket- 
games. 

Incidentally I may mention that these two games taught 
me many useful principles for Cricket-practice : the right 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 255 



positions of the legs ; the art of running side-ways with the 
eyes looking forwards ; the formation and preservation of that 
correct pose and poise which may be called " the ready " ; the 
use of the straight right leg and firm right foot as a pivot ; 
the body-swing from the hips ; the shoulder- jerk ; the fore- 
arm snap in contrast to the mere wrist-flick, which of course 
is also extremely useful, as in peg-top whipping ; the wrist- 
flick itself, especially at the last moment ; the habit of not 
taking the ball too far in front of one except when one wishes 
to hit high ; the follow through ; the fast full extension with 
power but without loss of balance or else followed by rapid 
recovery of balance. 



As a player of Cricket I used to suffer 
from similar and equally fundamental hin- 
drances to success ; most of these I believe 
that I have now found out. I shall give my- 
self nearly two years in which to correct 
these faults and to embody and infibre the 
best positions and movements that I can 
learn from the actual play of the best 
models (Abel, Hirst, Shrewsbury, and 
many others besides), as shown in prac- 
tice and in their photographs. Much of 
this apprenticeship will take place in my 
bedroom. All the time I shall continue 
to watch, to ask questions, to study 
theories ; I shall try to keep up to date 
both in my learning and in my advice 



256 editor's defence of 

in this volume if future editions should be 
needed. 

In a word, I write and shall write not^for 
genius-players so much as for players like 
myself. For genius-players, the Lytteltons, 
Steel, Ranjitsinhji, Grace, and others have 
already written infinitely better than I ever 
could. I have no ambition to supersede 
these great authorities except in so far 
as I must set the evidence of the camera and. 
of the muscles themselves above theoretical 
opinion. Even here I wish to show the 
foundation of fact underlying the super- 
structure of dogma. 

Similarly in Tennis I have read and heard again and 
again the theory that the head of the racket must be kept 
above the level of the wrist, in spite of the common practice 
of Lambert and Latham. The truth here is that the wrist 
should be firm. So with the late cut : the theory that it is 
a wrist-stroke only is not altogether absurd — the wrist may 
play an important part even if it is kept nearly or quite 
rigid (the power and direction being given by the shoulder, 
forearm, etc.). 

The reader must not misunderstand my 
contention. If I think that most experts 
do so-and-so, this carries little weight ; if 
the experts themselves think that they do 
some other so-and-so, this carries little weight 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 257 

either. The question is what the experts 
actually do. If the reader after careful study 
of these or any other photographs and after 
careful observation of these or any other 
experts shall decide that the experts actually 
do something different, then let him practise 
that something rather than what I suggest. 
Only let him not confuse me with a doctor 
who prescribes all sorts of drugs with ap- 
parent confidence yet himself would not swal- 
low a tithe of them. In a tentative and 
truth-seeking spirit I suggest only that 
which I shall myself use daily with heart and 
soul ; and I shall suggest it only as deserving 
of a fair trial before condemnation. By 
their fruits ye shall know them ; and so shall 
I. The fact that I am going to submit 
myself to such apprenticeship would show 
at least this — that I am convinced of the 
need of such apprenticeship for duffers like 
myself, and that, if I had a son of my own, 
I would put him through such an apprentice- 
ship before he had much chance of falling 
into those bad habits under which I myself 
laboured so long and so unhappily. I should 
teach him to master, with me, elements not 
only of the language of his tongue, but also 
of the language of his whole body ; I would 

17 



258 editor's defence of 

practise, with him, many positions and 
movements and extensions of feet, legs, 
trunk, shoulder, forearm, wrist, and neck — 
to fit him for Cricket and other games. In 
some practices I should err. But here, 
as in matters of diet, I should treat him as 
I should like to be treated, teach him as I 
should like to be taught, were I in his place ; 
teach him as I — for want of better know- 
ledge — shall teach myself ; urge him to do 
only what I myself have done or am doing. 
It is simply in this spirit, in the spirit of 
an experimenting and enthusiastic fellow- 
learner, that I approach my readers — all 
except the genius-cricketers, unless these 
wish to be teachers also. As almost the only 
self-made Racquet player and Tennis player 
who knows every single step of ^ his own slow 
journey out of a hopelessly dark jungle of 
hampering errors into a comparatively clear 
and light country, a journey elaborated 
during a very busy life of reading, writing, 
and teaching, I can speak with weight. I 
can honestly say that all my thousands of 
Racquet and Tennis foot-exercises, shoulder- 
jerks, body-swings, and so on, in bedrooms 
and elsewhere, have been well worth while ; 
and that those which I am now doing and 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 259 

shall do for Cricket will be well worth while 
for many reasons^ including physical develop- 
ment and personal appearance (I do not mind 
what others think of it so much as what I 
think of it !), health, enjoyment, and hope. 

I only dare speak for myself, because 
games, and therefore practice for games, 
are to me so much of all that seems best — 
possibly far too much. To others a similar 
preparation and practice might be sheer 
drudgery and slavery. To me they are at 
their worst a discipline — which I know I 
need — and an invaluable lesson that much 
work must be done of which the results will 
not show for years, but without which the 
naturally unskilful person like myself may 
never be able to show any appreciable results 
at all. 

Speaking for myself, I shall not be content 
with trying to learn batting. I want to bowl 
and to field and to watch, and to enjoy all 
these parts, and to do them well enough to 
avoid the look of boredom which I see on so 
many faces on the Cricket-field. My egotism 
in these pages will be pardoned because I 
am genuinely anxious to improve myself 
and others— our physique, our standard of 

play, our enjoyment. 

17* 



26o editor's defence of 

Let me here answer two objections made 
by friends of mine to whom I have told 
my plan. The first has already occurred 
to most readers. It is that I shall never 
become a good cricketer. This was pre- 
cisely what every critic with one excep- 
tion, Smale, the late Racquet coach at Wel- 
lington College, bless him ! asserted confi- 
dently about my Racquets and Tennis as well 
as my Cricket ! My style was so bad as to 
be beyond hope. Smale told me many of my 
faults and, as I said just now, I went for them 
and '' stuck to it '' for month after month, 
with the result that in America, where 
people are quick to observe and detect faults, 
I was frequently told, not that my feet 
were always in the wrong position and un- 
prepared, but that they were nearly always 
in the right position and prepared, in '' the 
ready." '' I can't catch you on the hop '* — 
that was the common compliment. If I 
achieved this for Racquets and Tennis, if 
I made the (at first) utterly unnatural 
movements so easy, so habitual, so auto- 
matic, so sub-conscious, so nearly inevit- 
able, that not one in a hundred people will 
now believe that I ever had any difficulty 
or serious fault here ; then why not in 



SYSTEM P^OR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 26 1 

Cricket also ? And, if / can, then I believe 
any one can. 

The objection may be put more mildly, 
it being held that I should only be a 
'' laboured '' player. But am I a laboured 
Racquet and Tennis player now ? Is not the 
labour past ? Are not the positions and 
movements now my very own ? I can sel- 
dom convince people that they ever were 
laboured, that I once was among the clum- 
siest of all. 

Or it might be asserted that though I 
mastered the individual parts of movements — 
no one dares to deny that I could do this — 
yet the parts would not work together. 
'* The secret of playing forward is to throw 
all the full weight forward together." Now, 
though I began each part of the Tennis stroke 
separately and mastered it per se^ yet I 
regularly and habitually combine these parts 
into a unity to-day. Tennis certainly seems 
to me to need the full weight at the right 
moment : I am repeatedly told that I seem 
to use all my weight in my strokes. And, 
if here, why not at Cricket ? I fail to see any 
radical difference, though I do see that my 
distance from the ball must be different : 
but that is what I intend to get over ! I also 



262 editor's defence of 

see that I must not lift the ordinary ball ; 
but with my left elbow well forward I hope 
to stop that defect in batting ; even in Tennis 
I try not to lift the ball much more than is 
necessary. 

The second objection is that the game 
is not worth this drudgery : this is the ob- 
jection chiefly of those who do not play games, 
or who have played them well without ap- 
prenticeship, or who have played them badly 
without apprenticeship or else after bad 
apprenticeship. This objection I answer in 
another chapter. It is a personal matter, 
and depends on what the game (and success 
in it) means for the individual— what it does 
and will do for him. To me Cricket (and 
success in it) would mean a very important 
benefit for the whole of my life, just as 
Racquets and Tennis (and improvement at 
them) have already done, and in these I have 
not nearly come to the top of my game yet. 
x\s to drudgery, lists of battles and dates 
and names and places would be drudgery 
to me ; so would weight-lifting and other 
strain-exercises ; so would society at-homes ; 
but fast full-movements and extensions, 
control of my weight and balance, for a 
few minutes each day, are not drudgery 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 263 

to me^ especially if I am stripped and have 
plenty of air and lights and an ambition or 
two in view. 

I should be sorry to see Cricket reduced 
to the level of a school study, but I should be 
still more sorry to see it given up altogether. 
Why has it decayed so much ? Why is there 
this apathy even among the (ordinary) 
players themselves ? We are wont to hear 
the blame ascribed to Lawn Tennis, Golf, 
Cycling, Croquet, and to the expensiveness 
of Cricket in time as well as in money. But 
to me it is patent that the real cause of the 
decay lies deeper, lies nearer home, just as 
the real cause of physical decay lies nearer 
home than in the murky atmosphere of a 
nerve-harassing city. The source is within 
ourselves. 

People do not play the game well enough 
to enjoy it as much as they enjoy their other 
games and exercises — or their laziness and 
'' amusements.'' And behind this low stan- 
dard of play (and hence of enjoyment) is 
the fact that they have not yet mastered and 
appropriated the alphabet of Cricket. 

I have never yet heard of anyone who 
systematically divided Cricket strokes into 
a number of parts, persevered in assimilating 



264 editor's defence of 

each part, combined and co-ordinated the 
parts ; and then, even then, looked out for 
faults to be corrected by a similar pro- 
cess. I have scarcely ever read or heard 
of a sensible analysis of any Cricket stroke, 
except by a few such writers as Mr. C. B. 
Fry (for we must put on one side the non- 
sense that the late cut is done only with 
the wrist : that is not analysis but bad 
guess-work). And this, too, although any 
stroke can be analysed. 

I will go further. I have never yet read 
or heard of the following advice (let the 
reader tell me if it has ever been given) : 
that, if a beginner must or will do the full 
stroke at once, he should concentrate on 
each part of it in turn, now on the left foot 
again and again, now on the left elbow, and 
so on ; somewhat as — to repeat a comparison 
— the conductor might during rehearsals 
concentrate his attention on each instru- 
ment in turn, now on the first violin, now 
on the 'cello, and so on. The end and aim 
would be a perfect whole ; but each part 
must first be perfected if ever a complete 
harmony is to result. 

Now why should there not be at every 
decent school, if not in every decent home, 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 265 

a drill for games ? A few foundation-move- 
ments were suggested in the ''Training of 
the Body '' (Appendix IL). I remember a 
deadly dull drill of monotonous rhythmical 
hot h-sides- together exercises at two private 
schools ; the compulsory drill for first-year- 
students at Yale College in America was 
better, but still far from fascinating. Why 
was there no swift lunge for the left foot 
in a straight line ; no throwing in all direc- 
tions with each hand in turn ; no wrist-turn- 
ing (as suggested in '' Daily Training '') ; no 
starting out and then back and then side- 
ways ; no running similarly ? In a word, 
why was there no drill at all in view of 
those games and sports in which every single 
British boy I have ever met would love to 
be able to excel ; why was there no sort or 
kind of apprenticeship for Cricket or other 
athletics ? The drill was not even healthy 
— did not make us lively and fresh. It was 
the acme of dreary discipline. 

Every true British subject is at least 
slightly annoyed when England is beaten ; 
when it is shown that we, the nation of game- 
players, who play habitually at schools and 
elsewhere, play — let us recognise the truth — 
not very well. Most of us have many impor- 



266 editor's defence of 

tant muscle-groups absolutely or partially 
undeveloped ; nor will the few repetitions 
of any movement, in a wrong manner, tend 
to develop these groups. We rely on the 
unreliable — especially the wrist. Our very 
foundations are out of course ; our feet and 
our bodies are wrongly posed, wrongly poised, 
slow to extend, slow to change, slow to bend. 
No book tells us to develop our muscles 
rightly before we play games constantly. 
Right practice in bedrooms and elsewhere 
would be most valuable for Cricket and other 
games, and for development ; as far as I can 
tell — and I believe I have studied all known 
systems — it would be no less valuable for 
physical and mental health and vigour than 
any of these systems ; granted a keenness 
for success in games, it would be far less dull. 
We need not practise to an American Uni- 
versity extreme. My many hours' work each 
day is a safeguard against that extreme for 
me. But, for the sake of the self and the 
side and the nation, I cannot but feel that if 
games are to be compulsory, then we had far 
better teach them well, and so raise the stan- 
dard of excellence and with it the stan- 
dard of interest and pleasure. We need not 
give more time : we might give many hours 



SYSTEM FOR BEGINNERS AND OTHERS. 267 

less time each week (I shall find less than ten 
minutes ample for most days). But we 
must give more sense^ more care^ if we are to 
hold our own as a nation of all-round cricketers 
and a nation of healthy all-round men. 



268 



APPENDIX II. 

LAWS OF THE GAME. 

The Reader is strongly recommended to 
buy the (Threepenny) Laws of Cricket^ with 
Interpretations^ etc.^ pubHshed by the Mary- 
lebone Cricket Club. 

THE LAWS OF CRICKET. 

AS REVISED BY THE MARYLEBONE CLUB, 1 884, 1 889, 1 894, 
1899, 1900, AND 1902. 

1. A match is played between two sides of eleven players 
each, unless otherwise agreed to ; each side has two innings, 
taken alternately, except in the case provided for in Law 53. 
The choice of innings shall be decided by tossing. 

2. The score shall be reckoned by runs. A run is 
scored : — 

I St. So often as the batsmen after a hit, or at any time 
while the ball is in play, shall have crossed, and 
made good their ground, from end to end. 

2nd. For penalties under Laws 16, 34, 41, and allow- 
ances under 44. 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 269 

Any run or runs so scored shall be duly recorded by scorers 
appointed for the purpose. The side which scores the 
greatest number of runs wins the match. No match is won 
unless played out or given up, except in the case provided 
in Law 45. 

3. Before the commencement of the match two Umpires 
shall be appointed ; one for each end. 

4. The Ball shall weigh not less than five ounces and a 
half, nor more than five ounces and three-quarters. It 
shall measure not less than nine inches, nor more than nine 
inches and one-quarter in circumference. At the beginning 
of each innings, either side may demand a new ball. 

5. The Bat shall not exceed four inches and one-quarter 
in the widest part ; it shall not be more than thirty-eight 
inches in length. 

6. The Wickets shall be pitched opposite and parallel to 
each other at a distance of twenty-two yards. Each wicket 
shall be eight inches in width and consist of three stumps, 
with two bails upon the top. The stumps shall be of equal 
and sufficient size to prevent the ball from passing through, 
twenty-seven inches out of the ground. The bails shall be 
each four inches in length, and when in position, on the 
top of the stumps, shall not project more than half an inch 
above them. The wickets shall not be changed during a 
match, unless the ground between them become unfit for 
play, and then only by consent of both sides. 

7. The Bowling Crease shall be in a line with the 
stumps ; six feet eight inches in length ; the stumps in the 
centre ; with a return crease at each end, at right angles 
behind the wicket. 

8. The Popping Crease shall be marked four feet from 
the wicket, parallel to it, and be deemed unlimited in 
length. 



270 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

9. The Ground shall not be rolled, watered, covered, 
mown, or beaten during a match, except before the com- 
mencement of each innings and of each day's play, when, 
unless the in-side object, the ground shall be swept and 
rolled for not more than ten minutes. This shall not 
prevent the batsman from beating the ground with his bat, 
nor the batsmen nor bowler from using sawdust in order to 
obtain a proper foothold. 

10. The ball must be bowled ; if thrown or jerked either 
umpire shall call *' No ball." 

11. The bowler shall deliver the ball with one foot on 
the ground behind the bowling crease, and within the return 
crease, otherwise the umpire shall call '' No ball." 

12. If the bowler shall bowl the ball so high over or so 
wide of the wicket that, in the opinion of the umpire, it is 
not within reach of the striker, the umpire shall call " Wide 
ball." 

13. The ball shall be bowled in overs of six balls from 
each wicket alternately. When six balls have been bowled, 
and the ball is finally settled in the bowler's or wicket- 
keeper's hands, the umpire shall call *' Over." Neither a 
'* no ball " nor " wide ball " shall be reckoned as one of the 
" over." 

14. The bowler shall be allowed to change ends as often 
as he pleases, provided only that he does not bowl two 
overs consecutively in one innings. 

15. The bowler may require the batsman at the wicket 
from which he is bowling to stand on that side of it which 
he may direct. 

16. The striker may hit a ''no ball," and whatever runs 
result shall be added to his score : but he shall not be out 
from a " no ball " unless he be run out or break Laws 26, 
27, 29, 30. All runs made from a "no ball" otherwise 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 2/1 

than from the bat, shall be scored ''no balls," and if no run 
be made one run shall be added to that score. From a 
** wide ball " as many runs as are run shall be added to the 
score as " wide balls," and if no run be otherwise obtained 
one run shall be so added. 

17. If the ball, not having been called "wide" or "no 
ball," pass the striker without touching his bat or person, 
and any runs be obtained, the umpire shall call " Bye " ; 
but if the ball touch any part of the striker's person (hand 
excepted) and any run be obtained, the umpire shall call 
" Leg-bye," such runs to be scored " byes " and "leg-byes " 
respectively. 

18. At the beginning of the match, and of each innings, 
the umpire at the bowler's wicket shall call " Play " ; from 
that time no trial ball shall be allowed to any bowler on the 
ground between the wickets, and when one of the batsmen 
is out, the use of the bat shall not be allowed to any person 
until the next batsman shall come in. 

19. A batsman shall be held to be "out of his ground," 
unless his bat in hand or some part of his person be 
grounded within the line of the popping crease. 

20. The wicket shall be held to be " down " when either 
of the bails is struck off, or if both bails be off, when a 
stump is struck out of the ground. 

The Striker is out — 

21. If the wicket be bowled down, even if the ball first 
touch the striker's bat or person : — " Bowled." 

22. Or, if the ball from a stroke of the bat or hand, but 
not the wrist, be held before it touch the ground, although 
it be hugged to the body of the catcher : — " Caught." 

2;^. Or, if in playing at the ball, provided it be not 
touched by the bat or hand, the striker be out of his 
ground, and the wicket be put down by the wicket-keeper 



272 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

with the ball or with hand or arm, with ball in hand : — 
'' Stumped." 

24. Or, if with any part of his person he stops the ball, 
which in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler's wicket, 
shall have been pitched in a straight line from it to the 
striker's wicket and would have hit it : — " Leg before 
wicket." 

25. Or, if in playing at the ball he hit down his wicket 
with his bat or any part of his person or dress : — " Hit 
wicket." 

26. Or, if under pretence of running, or otherwise, either 
of the batsmen wilfully prevent a ball from being caught : — 
" Obstructing the field." 

27. Or, if the ball be struck, or be stopped by any part 
of his person, and he wilfully strike it again, except it be 
done for the purpose of guarding his wicket, which he may 
do with his bat, or any part of his person, except his 
hands : — " Hit the ball twice." 

Either Batsman is out — 

28. If in running, or at any other time, when the ball is 
in play, he be out of his ground, and his wicket be struck 
down by the ball after touching any fieldsman, or by the 
hand or arm, with ball in hand, of any fieldsman : — " Run 
out." 

29. Or, if he touch with his hands or take up the ball 
while in play, unless at the request of the opposite side : — 
" Handled the ball." 

30. Or, if he wilfully obstruct any fieldsman : — " Ob- 
structing the field." 

31. If the batsmen have crossed each other, he that runs 
for the wicket which is put down is out ; if they have not 
crossed, he that has left the wicket which is put down is 
out. 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 273 

32. The striker being caught no runs shall be scored. A 
batsman being run out, that run which was being attempted 
shall not be scored. 

33A. A batsman being out from any cause, the ball shall 
be ''Dead." 

33B. If the ball, whether struck with the bat or not, 
lodges in a batsman's clothing, the ball shall become 
"Dead." 

34. If a ball in play cannot be found or recovered, any 
fieldsman may call " Lost ball," when the ball shall be 
" Dead " ; six runs shall be added to the score ; but if more 
than six runs have been run before " Lost ball " has been 
called, as many runs as have been run shall be scored. 

35. After the ball shall have been finally settled in the 
wicket-keeper's or bowler's hand, it shall be " Dead " ; but 
when the bowler is about to deliver the ball, if the batsman 
at his wicket be out of his ground before actual delivery, the 
said bowler may run him out ; but if the bowler throw at 
that wicket and any run result, it shall be scored " No ball." 

36. A batsman shall not retire from his wicket and return 
to it to complete his innings after another has been in, 
without the consent of the opposite side. 

37. A substitute shall be allowed to field or run between 
wickets for any player who may, during the match, be 
incapacitated from illness or injury, but for no other reason, 
except with the consent of the opposite side. 

38. In all cases where a substitute shall be allowed, the 
consent of the opposite side shall be obtained as to the 
person to act as substitute, and the place in the field which 
he shall take. 

39. In case any substitute shall be allowed to run 
between wickets, the striker may be run out if either he or 
his substitute be out of his ground. If the striker be out of 

18 



2/4 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

his ground while the ball is in play, that wicket which he has 
left may be put down and the striker given out, although the 
other batsman may have made good the ground at that end, 
and the striker and his substitute at the other end. 

40. A batsman is liable to be out for any infringement 
of the Laws by his substitute. 

41. The fieldsman may stop the ball with any part of his 
person, but if he wilfully stop it otherwise, the ball shall be 
*' Dead," and five runs added to the score ; whatever runs 
may have been made, five only shall be added. 

42. The wicket-keeper shall stand behind the wicket. If 
he shall take the ball for the purpose of stumping before it 
has passed the wicket, or, if he shall incommode the striker 
by any noise, or motion, or if any part of his person be over 
or before the wicket, the striker shall not be out, excepting 
under Laws 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. 

43. The Umpires are the sole judges of fair or unfair 
play, of the fitness of the ground, the weather, and the light 
for play ; all disputes shall be determined by them, and if 
they disagree the actual state of things shall continue. 

44. They shall pitch fair wickets, arrange boundaries 
where necessary, and the allowances to be made for them, 
and change ends after eachside has had one innings. 

45. They shall allow two minutes for each striker to come 
in, and ten minutes between each innings. When they shall 
call " Play," the side refusing to play shall lose the match. 

46. They shall not order a batsman out unless appealed 
to by the other side. 

N.B. — An appeal, '^ How's that," covers all ways of 
being out (within the jurisdiction of the umpire appealed 
to), unless a specific way of getting out is stated by the 
person asking. 



LAWS OF THK GAME. 275 

47. The umpire at the bowler's wicket shall be appealed 
to before the other umpire in all cases, except in those of 
stumping, hit wicket, run out at the striker's wicket, or 
arising out of Law 42, but in any case in which an umpire 
is unable to give a decision, he shall appeal to the other 
umpire, whose decision shall be final. 

48. If either umpire be not satisfied of the absolute 
fairness of the delivery of any ball, he shall call " No ball." 

48 A. The umpire shall take especial care to call "No 
ball " instantly upon delivery : " Wide ball " as soon as it 
shall have passed the striker. 

49. If either batsman run a short run, the umpire shall 
call " One short," and the run shall not be scored. 

50. x\fter the umpire has called " Over," the ball is 
" Dead," but an appeal may be made as to whether either 
batsman is out ; such appeal, however, shall not be made after 
the delivery of the next ball, nor after any cessation of play. 

51. No umpire shall be allowed to bet. 

52. No umpire shall be changed during a match, unless 
with the consent of both sides, except in case of violation 
of Law 51 ; then either side may dismiss him. 

53. The side which bats first and leads by 150 runs in a 
three days' match, or by 100 runs in a two days' match, 
shall have the option of requiring the other side to follow 
their innings. 

54. The In-side may declare their innings at an end in 
a three days' match at or after the luncheon interval on the 
second day ; in a two days' match on the second day, at any 
time ; in a one day match at any time. 

ONE DAY MATCHES. 

I. The side which bats first and leads by 75 runs shall 
have the option of requiring the other side to follow their 
innings. 

18* 



2/6 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

2. The match, unless played out, shall be decided by the 
first innings. Prior to the commencement of a match it 
may be agreed that the over consist of 5 or 6 balls. 

N.li. — A Tie is included in the words " Played out." 



SINGLE WICKET. 

The Laws are^ where they apply^ the same as the above, with 
the following alterations and additions, 

1. One wicket ^hall be pitched, as in Law 6, with a 
bowling stump opposite to it at a distance of twenty-two 
yards. The bowling crease shall be in a line with the 
bowling stump, and drawn according to Law 7. 

2. When there shall be less than five players on a side, 
bounds shall be placed twenty-two yards each in a line from 
the off and leg stump. 

3. The ball must be hit before the bounds to entitle the 
striker to a run, which run cannot be obtained unless he 
touch the bowling stump or crease in a line with his bat, or 
some part of his person, or go beyond them, and return to 
the popping crease. 

4. When the striker shall hit the ball, one of his feet must 
be on the ground behind the popping crease, otherwise the 
umpire shall call '' No hit," and no run shall be scored. 

5. When there shall be less than five players on a side, 
neither byes, leg-byes, nor overthrows shall be allowed, nor 
shall the striker be caught out behind the wicket, nor 
stumped. 

6. The fieldsman must return the ball so that it shall 
cross the ground between the wicket and the bowling stump, 
or between the bowling stump and the bounds, the striker 
may run till the ball be so returned. 

7. After the striker shall have made one run, if he start 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 2/7 

again he must touch the bowHng stump or crease, and turn 
before the ball cross the ground to entitle him to another. 

8. The striker shall be entitled to three runs for lost 
ball, and the same number for ball wilfully stopped by a 
fieldsman otherwise than with any part of his person. 

9. When there shall be more than four players on a side 
there shall be no bounds. All hits, byes, leg-byes, and 
overthrows shall then be allowed. 

10. There shall be no restriction as to the ball being 
bowled in overs, but no more than one minute shall be 
allowed between each ball. 



INSTRUCTIONS TO UMPIRES. 

These instructions, drawn up in 1892 by the Committee 
of the M.C.C., are intended as an appendix to the Laws of 
the Game. Some little alteration had to be made in 1901 
the decision as to the fitness of the ground and light being 
now in the hands of the captains. 

FITNESS OF GROUND. 

Law 43. — At the commencement of a match, the umpires 
may be appealed to by either side as to the fit- 
ness of the ground for play. 

Should they not agree, play will not commence 
until they are agreed. 

In case of interruption from rain, as soon as the 
rain has ceased, the umpires shall, immediately, 
without further instruction, inspect the wicket, 
unaccompanied by any of the players, and decide 
upon its fitness. Should it prove unfit, they shall 
continue to inspect at intervals, until they decide 



2/8 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

that it is fit for play, when they shall call upon the 
players to resume the game. 

The ground is unfit for play — when water stands 
on the surface, or when it is so wet, muddy, or 
slippery as to deprive the bowlers of a reasonable 
foothold, or the fieldsmen of the power of free 
movement. 

The umpires are not to be biassed by the opinions 
of either side, still less are they to allow themselves 
to be influenced by the impatience of the spectators 
for a resumption of the game, and are not to be 
induced, by the public interest in a particular match, 
to declare the ground fit for play, unless they would 
consider that ground fit under any circumstances. 

FITNESS OF LIGHT FOR PLAY. 

The umpires may decide, on appeal, that there is 
not sufficient light for play. Should the light im- 
prove before the time for drawing stumps, they shall, 
without waiting for instructions, call upon the players 
to resume the game. 

In the event of the captains agreeing as to the 
condition of the ground or light, the umpires will, 
so far, be relieved of their responsibility. 
Law 47. — An umpire is only justified in appealing to the 
other umpire when he is unable to decide, owing to 
his having been prevented from seeing the occur- 
rence on which the appeal is based. He is not to 
appeal to the other umpire in cases on which he 
could give a decision, merely because he is unwil- 
ling to give that decision. If he be in any doubt, 
the principle laid down in Law 43, " That the exist- 
ing state of things shall continue," shall be followed, 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 2/9 

and, in consequence, the decision should be in 
favour of the batsman. 

Law 48. — The special attention of umpires is called to this 
law, which directs them to call " no ball," unless 
absolutely satisfied of the fairness of the delivery. 

Umpires should not allow themselves to be unduly 
influenced by appeals from such of the field who 
were not in a position to form a judgment on the 
point appealed upon, or by tricks — such as throwing 
up the ball, on appealing for a catch at the wicket, 
without waiting for the decision. Umpires, being 
the sole judges of fair or unfair play, should re- 
member that such devices are obviously unfair, and 
are not in accordance with the spirit in which 
cricket should be played. 

By order of the Committee of the M.C.C. 

June 20th, 1892. 

In the course of the season of 1899 the following 
additions to the Instructions to Umpires were ap- 
proved by the M.C.C. Committee : — 

Law 54. — " Declaring." — 

(a) If a side declare its innings during the 
luncheon interval, it must do so within fifteen 
minutes after the commencement of such interval, 
otherwise an extra ten minutes will be allowed for 
rolling. 

(b) If a side declare its innings closed in the 
morning before play commences, it must do so in 
sufficient time to enable the other side to choose the 
roller it prefers, otherwise an extra ten minutes will 
be allowed for rolling. 



28o LAWS OF THE GAME. 



CODE OF SIGNALLING. 

Boundaries shall be signalled by waving the hand from side 
to side. 

Byes shall be signalled by raising the open hand above the 
head. 

Leg-byes shall be signalled by raising the leg and touching 
it with the hand. 

Wides shall be signalled by extending both arms hori- 
zontally. 

No-balls shall be signalled by extending one arm hori- 
zontally. 

The decision Out shall be signalled by raising the index 
finger above the head. 

Umpires should wait until a signal has been answered by 
the scorer before allowing the game to proceed. 

Besides signalling, the umpire should '^ call " distinctly for 
the information of the players. 

On giving a decision the umpire should make sure that 
the batsman understands what the decision is. 

Passed by M.C.C, Coimnittee, June i6fh, 1902. 

(a) Umpires are not justified in deciding the ground unfit 
for play, merely because the grass is wet and the ball would, 
in consequence, be slippery. 

(b) In order to facilitate play at the earliest possible 
moment in wet weather, the Umpires shall see that the 
foot-holes made by the bowlers and batsmen are cleaned 
out, dried, and filled up with sawdust at any time during 
the match, although the game is not actually in progress. 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 28 1 



RULES OF COUNTY CRICKET. 

At a meeting of County representatives, held at Lord's 
on Monday, December 5th, 1898, the question of amend- 
ing the rules of County Cricket was left in the hands of the 
Marylebone Club, who had offered to form a committee to 
deal with the matter. The committee which, in accord- 
ance with a resolution passed by the County representa- 
tives included a representative from Kent, Yorkshire, 
Surrey, Lancashire, and two Minor Counties, was duly 
formed, and after long deliberation, the following scheme 
was agreed to. The M.C.C. committee approved of the 
alterations, and in the spring of 1899 the rules as given below 
were made public. Practically the only point in dispute 
had been the residential qualification, it being strongly felt 
in many quarters that Rule 3 in the old code had been 
interpreted in a way quite foreign to the intentions of those 
who framed it in 1873. Hence the far more strict defini- 
tion of " residence " now put forward. In order, no doubt, 
to avoid interference with existing qualifications, it was 
agreed that except as regards Rule 5, the new rules should 
not come into operation until the ist of January, 1900. 

1. A cricketer born in one county and residing in 
another may not play for more than one county during the 
same season. 

2. Qualification by Birth. — A cricketer is always 
ehgible to play for the county of his birth. 

3. Qualification by Residence. — A cricketer is quali- 
fied to play for any county in which he has resided for the 
previous 24 months and is residing, but — 

(a) The mere acquirement or hiring of a tenement, 



282 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

unless used as a bona fide home, does not constitute 
" residence.'' 

(b) The occupation of a tenement during the cricket 
season only does not constitute "residence.'' 

4. Where a cricketer uses as residences in the course of 
the year, tenements in more than one county, or where he 
leaves the country for the winter months, and in all other 
cases where his qualification is in any doubt, it is obligatory 
on the county for which he wishes to play to prove his 
qualification to the satisfaction of the M.C.C. 

5. A cricketer who has played for a county for five suc- 
cessive years is qualified to play for that county for the rest 
of his cricket career, or until he plays for some other 
county. 

6. A cricketer may play for his old county during the 
two years that he is qualifying for another. 

7. Transfers. — A cricketer, already qualified for a 
county but wishing to qualify by residence for another 
county, must give notice in writing to the Cricket Club 
Committee of the former county before he commences such 
residence ; and a County Cricket Club wishing to engage, 
under a residential qualification, a cricketer who is already 
qualified for another County Club, must inform the com- 
mittee of the latter before commencing negotiations with 
the cricketer. 

8. Appeal. — Should any question arise under these rules 
it shall be left to the decision of the committee of the 
Marylebone Club, which shall be final. 

The following were established as the laws of county 
qualification, at a meeting held in the Surrey County 
Pavilion, Kennington Oval, on June 9th, 1873, and re- 
mained in force until January ist, 1900, when they were 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 283 

superseded by the new rules set forth above. Representa- 
tives were present in 1873 from Surrey, Middlesex, Sussex, 
Kent, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire. 

I. That no cricketer, whether amateur or professional, 
shall play for more than one county during the same season. 

II. Every cricketer born in one county and residing in 
another shall be free to choose at the commencement of 
each season for which of those counties he will play, and 
shall, during that season, play for that county only. 

III. A cricketer shall be qualified to play for any county 
in which he is residing and has resided for the previous two 
years ; or a cricketer may elect to play for the county in 
which his family home is, so long as it remains open to him 
as an occasional residence. 

IV. That, should any question arise as to the residential 
quahfication, the same should be left to the decision of the 
committee of the Marylebone Club. 

V. That a copy of these rules be sent to the Marylebone 
Club, with a request that they be adopted by the club. 



The county qualification was discussed at a meeting of 
the County Cricket Council, held in the Pavilion at Lord's, 
on December loth, 1888. Representatives were present 
from the following nineteen counties : — Surrey, Kent, York- 
shire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Middle- 
sex, Sussex, Derbyshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Cheshire, 
Hampshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, 
Somerset, Hertfordshire, and Staffordshire. It was carried 
unanimously that — 

*'' For purposes of county cricket, county boundaries 
are not affected by the Local Government Act, 
1888." 



284 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

And on the motion of Sussex, seconded by Gloucester- 
shire, it was decided by ten votes to five that — 

*' During the two years a cricketer may be quaUfying 

to play for another county under the residential 

qualification, he shall be allowed to play for 

the county for which he has previously been 

playing under that rule." 

In consequence of the passing of this latter resolution, 

the rules of county cricket were modified by the addition of 

the words : *' That a man can play for his old county during 

the two years that he is qualifying for another." 



COUNTY CLASSIFICATION. 

A SPECIAL MEETING of county Secretaries, called together 
by Yorkshire to discuss the subject of county classification, 
was held in the Pavilion at Lord's on Tuesday, the ist of 
May, 1894. Mr. H. Perkins occupied the chair, and there 
were present — Mr. M. J. Ellison and Lord Hawke (York- 
shire), Messrs. W. E. Denison and C. W. Wright (Notts), 
Mr. A. J. Webbe (Middlesex), Mr. F. Marchant and Mr. 
A. J. Lancaster (Kent), Mr. C. W. Alcock (Surrey), Messrs. 
W. Newham and W. L. Murdoch (Sussex), Messrs. H. 
Murray- xAnderdon and S. M. J. Woods (Somerset), Messrs. 
H. W. Bainbridge and W. E. Ansell (Warwickshire), Mr. 
W. Barclay-Delacombe (Derbyshire), Messrs. T. Burdett 
and G. W. Hillyard (Leicestershire), Dr. Russell Bencraft 
(Hampshire), and Messrs. C. E. Green and O. R. Borra- 
daile (Essex). The meeting was a private one, but the 
following details were officially communicated to the 
Press : — 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 285 

The original proposition by Mr. Ellison, on behalf of 
Yorkshire, "That for the purpose of classification there 
should be no distinction drawn between counties who play 
out and home three-day matches with not less than six 
other counties,'' was seconded by Mr. Hillyard, and then 
withdrawn in favour of the following amendment : — Pro- 
posed by Mr. Denison and seconded by Mr. Murray- 
Anderdon, "That the M.C.C. be requested to consider 
and advise upon the whole question of classification of 
counties." This was carried unanimously. 

It was also made known that, as the result of a meeting 
of the various captains of the first-class counties. Lord 
Hawke had sent in the following resolution signed by him- 
self and Messrs. J. Shuter (Surrey), S. M. J. Woods (Somer- 
set), J. A. Dixon (Notts), F. Marchant (Kent), W. L. 
Murdoch (Sussex), A. J. Webbe (Middlesex), A. N. 
Hornby (Lancashire), and W. G. Grace (Gloucestershire) : — 
" That the matches played by the following four counties, 
Derbyshire, Essex, Leicestershire, and Warwickshire, against 
the counties at present styled first-class, and also against one 
another and against the M.C.C., should be regarded as 
first-class matches, and the records of the players engaged 
in these matches shall be included in the list of first-class 
averages." Lord Hawke's resolution was afterwards form- 
ally ratified by the committee of the Marylebone Club. 

On the 20th of October the Committee of the M.C.C, 
to whom, as stated above, the whole question of the classifi- 
cation of counties had been referred, made public the fol- 
lowing scheme : — 

/ Lord's Ground, N.W., October, 1894. 

The Committee of M.C.C. having, at the request of the 
leading counties, prepared a scheme for regulating the 



286 LAWS OF THE GAME. 

county championship, and that scheme having met with 
the approval of counties concerned, the contest for the 
championship will in future be regulated by it. 
The scheme as finally approved is as follows : — 

CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTIES. 

Cricketing counties shall be considered as belonging to 
first-class or not. There is no necessity for further sub- 
division. 

First-class counties are those whose matches, with one 
another, with M.C.C. and Ground, with the Universities, 
with the Australians, and such other elevens as shall be 
adjudged " first-class matches " by the M.C.C. Committee, 
are used in compilation of first-class batting and bowling 
averages. 

There shall be no limit to the number of first-class 
counties. The M.C.C. Committee may bring new counties 
into the list, may remove existing ones from it, or may do 
both. 

The list for 1895 is as follows : — 

Derbyshire Lancashire Surrey 

Essex Leicestershire Sussex 

Gloucestershire Middlesex Warwickshire 

Hampshire Nottingham Yorkshire 

Kent Somerset 

THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP. 

After the close of each cricket season, the Committee of 
the M.C.C. shall decide the county championship. 

It shall be competed for by first-class counties. No 
county shall be eligible unless it shall have played at least 
eight out and home matches with other counties, provided 
that if no play can take place owing to weather or other 



LAWS OF THE GAME. 287 

unavoidable cause such match shall be reckoned as 
unfinished.'^ 

One point shall be reckoned for each win ; one deducted 
for each loss ; unfinished games shall not be reckoned. 

The county which during the season shall have, in 
finished matches, obtained the greatest proportionate 
number of points shall be reckoned champion county. 

At the meeting of County Secretaries on December 6th, 
1898, it was moved and carried as a recommendation to 
the M.C.C. that the number of out and home matches 
qualifying for the championship should in 1899, in view 
of the Australian visit, be again reduced to six. This was 
subsequently agreed to by the M.C.C, Worcestershire 
having at the Secretaries' meeting secured six out and home 
matches with leading counties, made formal application to 
the M.C.C. to be promoted to a place among the first-class 
counties, and on December 12th their request was granted, 
subject to the usual regulations being complied with. 



* In 1896 the number of out and home matches qualifying for the 
Championship was reduced to six, owing to the Australians' tour, and 
for 1897 the number was fixed at seven. In 1898, however, all the 
counties played at least eight out and home matches, thus complying 
with the rule as originally laid down. 



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